![]() "I do know that a guiding principle for everyone in this was the sale. So you're going to have to ask them that. Asked why it wasn't released sooner, Ferry said: "In September, Bernard Taylor gave his findings to the team. The team's release and the letter from Taylor were formally written as a condition of the settlement.įerry had requested a statement to that effect in September. I lost a fair amount of weight early on with the stress."įerry remained on an indefinite leave of absence following Taylor's findings. "I had been cleared of racial animus and so on."Īfter the audio of the conference call was made public, Ferry said he was "balled up on the couch for the first few days. "I was not cleared of making a mistake," Ferry said. But he was confident the investigation would support his claim that he read from third-party reports and a check of his emails would not yield anything damaging. While the investigation was ongoing, Ferry said it was "hard to work that summer" on free agency and draft preparations. The audio of Ferry's comments on the conference call became public Sept. 10, although the firm didn't produce a written report. ![]() Deng."Īn overview of the law firm's findings was reported to Atlanta's ownership Sept. Deng from a scouting report during the call, and there was no evidence to indicate that during the call you acted in a manner motivated by negative bias toward Mr. "In summary, the facts indicated that you repeated comments that were not your own about Mr. "We reported the results of our work to the Hawks," Taylor wrote in a letter to Ferry. In documents obtained by ESPN over the weekend, Bernard Taylor, the lead investigator for Alston & Bird, supported Ferry's assertion. On the call, which occurred June 6, 2014, Ferry characterized Deng as a player who "has a little African in him," and added, "He's like a guy who would have a nice store out front and sell you counterfeit stuff out of the back." Ferry has maintained he was reading from a scouting report prepared by a third party. He showed a lot of dignity and forgiveness just to talk to me."ĮSPN reported this past weekend that the law firm hired by the team - Alston & Bird LLP - conducted 19 witness interviews and reviewed the contents of more than 24,000 emails and found no evidence that Ferry's comments on Deng were motivated by bias. "I'm lucky that he was willing to talk with me. It had to be really hard and frustrating for him. "I'm sorry that Luol's had to hear this in so many ways and so many places all year long. I have to own that and I have."įerry told ESPN that he considered the possibility of returning to his job at various points throughout the season but "didn't want to be a distraction" for the Hawks, who won 60 games and placed four players on the All-Star team this season, or for Deng. "I wish the full context of the call was known, but I made a mistake," Ferry said. So it's mixed emotions for a lot of reasons."ĮSPN.com's Kevin Arnovitz reported Thursday that Ferry and the team had agreed to a buyout that will pay Ferry more than the remaining balance on the final three years of contract, according to league sources.Ĭoach Mike Budenholzer will assume the role of head of basketball operations under the title of team president, while assistant general manager Wes Wilcox will be elevated to general manager, sources said. But I'm also happy for the people who are getting opportunities to move forward. "I have mixed emotions, but it's good to have the situation resolved and to be moving forward," Ferry told ESPN in his first public comments on the situation since September. ![]() You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserĭanny Ferry, who officially stepped down as general manager of the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, told ESPN he has mixed emotions about leaving the team but is relieved that he and the franchise can now move forward.įerry's departure ends a 10-month indefinite leave of absence that followed the release of an audio recording of a conference call with ownership in which Ferry was heard repeating culturally insensitive comments from a scouting report about Miami Heat forward Luol Deng.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |