Danny Ferry

[Chicat]

Nice quote.

Enjoy unemployment.

[azcat49]

What did he say Chi?

[Chicat]

He said that Luol Deng "has a little African in him and not in a bad way. He'd have a store with nice stuff up front and he'd be selling you counterfeit stuff out of the back."

[azcat49]

What an idiot. Did he just get done having 3 fingers with Sterling.

[KaibabKat]

Danny Ferry did say it but was actually quoting someone else who wrote it originally.

Should everyone who repeats that statement be fired from their current job for being a racist?

[Spaceman Spiff]

Danny Ferry did say it but was actually quoting someone else who wrote it originally.

Should everyone who repeats that statement be fired from their current job for being a racist?

Repeating it is at its best, monstrously dumb. At its absolute best, and you can get fired for that. You can also get fired for being a publicity nightmare. Or for endorsing racism by repeating it.

For a team with an owner convinced they have a ton of black fans, they're trying real hard to lose them all. Hello Seattle!

[Puerco]

Honest question: is that really a racist comment? I don't know the context, but it doesn't rub me the wrong way in isolation. When you add in the context of political correctness gone awry in the US and the fact that he's broadcasting, it was at best dumb, like Spiff says. But dumb /=/ racist.

I can tell you one thing -- I have a friend from Zimbabwe. If I'd have said something like that to him, he'd have laughed and probably replied about hiding from CIA spies or some other stereotype about America. Then we'd both have laughed and gone to grab a beer.

[Chicat]

Danny Ferry did say it but was actually quoting someone else who wrote it originally.

Should everyone who repeats that statement be fired from their current job for being a racist?

If your boss thinks its a fireable offense, yes.

"They were not from a private conversation — they were in a business environment on a business matter in front of a dozen or more people," Gearon wrote. "If Ferry would make such a slur in a semi-public forum, we can only imagine what he has said in smaller groups or to individuals."

Gearon wrote, "Ferry completed the racial slur by describing the player (and implicitly all persons of African descent) as a two-faced liar and cheat."

"We were appalled that anyone would make such a racist slur, much less the GM of an NBA franchise on a major conference call," Gearon wrote. "One of us can be heard on the tape reacting with astonishment."

[Longhorned]

I thought he was reading that from an email written by the owner?

[Merkin]

[Chicat]

I thought he was reading that from an email written by the owner?

I think the story is that he was reading that description from an independent scout and that he put his own spin on it. I can't tell how true that is though.

[JMarkJohns]

If I'm understanding the intentions of the quote, is the scout saying Deng's stats when propped up in a sales window show a Max-type player but upon purchase, the player you get is a bit of a star fraud, just posing since accumulation of stats (like a trademark logo) isn't the only proof of realness?

If so, why the attempt at clever with racial undertones.

You could have phrased it like I did without race, ancestry, or intent to defraud based upon either being mentioned?

Yesterday was a crazy day. This is actually more problematic than Levenson's pseudo analysis of the Hawks fanbase, and arriving at the pretty accurate point of, and I'm paraphrasing, "southern whites are still racist and uncomfortable around blacks." Gotta choose your words better. Neither point was racist like Sterling, but each were easy to paint that way once editorialized.

But it's each of their's fault for getting cute with phrasings, or not thinking through and simplifying your points.

"Signing Deng at Max money is like buying a Coach handbag from a vendor in New Jersey. Appearances say it's a good buy, but chances are you're getting ripped off."

"So long as southern whites are racist and uncomfortable around minorities, we will continue to have limited ticket draw."

I'm not seeing anything that can be painted as racist in either, no?

[Puerco]

Except that making the generalization of all southern whites being racist is far more racist than what Ferry actually said.

[JMarkJohns]

Except that making the generalization of all southern whites being racist is far more racist than what Ferry actually said.

As a white who lives in a racist state, it paints with a broad brush, but it's not untrue.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Jmark, I agree. The underlying point of either is pretty straightforward and noncontroversial. I'd say the same basic thing about Deng, that his stats say he's a star, but he doesn't generate that level of team success, and that he'll sell you on that promise, but isn't the building block you think he is.

Why inject such a stupid metaphor?

Also, saying that southern whites might be uncomfortable in a largely African American area...isn't that essentially why the Braves are moving out of the downtown ATL area?

[Puerco]

Except that making the generalization of all southern whites being racist is far more racist than what Ferry actually said.

As a white who lives in a racist state, it paints with a broad brush, but it's not untrue.

Negative racial generalizations are racist by definition, no? I'm white and lived in North Carolina for 10 years. Your generalization doesn't hold any more true there than it would in Ohio. And your generalization is no more true than if I were to say all southern blacks are racist. Which isn't to say any of those are false.

My point is that they are all equally racist statements. It is not okay to make a racist statement about ANY particular ethnic group.

[JMarkJohns]

I'm not saying all southern whites are racist. I said as long as southern whites are still racist. Not a huge difference, but my intention was more commentary on those who are than who aren't.

So long as enough southern whites are uncomfortable around minorities, the hawks fanbase and drawing power will always be undercut by racism.

That's his point. That's my point. It's not untrue.

[Reydituto]

Wojo with a good breakdown:

One of the owners on the line in June, Michael Gearon Jr., had once been a far greater power player within the franchise. No more. Levenson and Ferry had neutralized him, and Gearon's days of input into basketball decisions had been long gone. He disdained Ferry, and told people often inside and outside the organization: He longed for Ferry's ouster as GM.

So now, Gearon had a notoriously impatient general manager on a conference call on a Friday afternoon, with owners whom sources say he didn't respect or like; or in some cases, both. As it turned out, Gearon had the perfect storm for the beginning of the end for the Atlanta Hawks’ two most powerful figures: Levenson and Ferry.

[Olsondogg]

I've always hated Danny Ferry.

[Puerco]

I'm not saying all southern whites are racist. I said as long as southern whites are still racist. Not a huge difference, but my intention was more commentary on those who are than who aren't.

So long as enough southern whites are uncomfortable around minorities, the hawks fanbase and drawing power will always be undercut by racism.

That's his point. That's my point. It's not untrue.

Yep, there ya go.

I guess my point is that it's really easy to write or say something that someone could consider racist, even if you have no intention of doing so. We're a little too sensitive these days, IMO.

http://www.hsoi.com/resources/offensensitivity.gif