Atlanta Hawks CEO Steve Koonin (Photo by Christopher Polk/WireImage for Turner)
Atlanta Hawks CEO Steve Koonin has released an open letter of apology to fans, the team and the city of Atlanta, saying the organization “did not do the right thing” to address and correct racially insensitive words and innuendos “over a period of years.”
The apology follows Hawks general manager Danny Ferry taking an indefinite leave of absence following his racially insensitive comments about then free agent Luol Deng, who eventually signed with the Miami Heat. This followed Hawks co-owner Bruce Levenson announcing that he’d sell his controlling share of the team following the release of his racially inflammatory comments in an email to Ferry and the team’s other owners.
Read the letter below:
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