I agree with Mark Bradley's column on Ferry: In any sport, when you allow too many outside non-sport issues to cloud the basic game-centered evaluations, you lose. This isn't Jackie Robinson, or even Hank Aaron, who faced discrimination and racial hatred deplorable in any context. This was an innocuous thing that he read from a scouting report written by someone else, didn't even originate with him, blown up out of all proportion, by some opportunistic (now former) owners and some small outside groups with an outsized agenda.

Question: How many times are players and coaches thrown out of the game for uttering the "N-word" in games and practices, not to mention off-court in their daily lives? Answer: zero. When I was around college basketball, I heard the word uttered daily in practices and games dozens of times. At first I was shocked, but those using the word were comfortable using the word to describe themselves as well as others. It was weird back then to me, but it still goes on today. I didn't like it, but the double standard was just as bad. It would work better if there were one standard that applies to everyone, regardless of background or what they personally look like; every player and coach in every situation, but it isn't (instead of the current "it's okay if I say it, but you can not" thing which is totally bogus).

Complete double standard that reeks of unfair discrimination against people who look like Ferry. Would be equally as wrong if it were the other way around. Ferry got hosed. He did an incredible job in Atlanta pulling an entire franchise out of the doldrums and taking it to where it had never been before. Hope he goes somewhere else and wins an NBA Championship.


Ferry’s gone, which is bad. So are these owners, which is good
June 22, 2015 | Filed in: AJC Sports, Atlanta Hawks / NBA.
Mark Bradley @MarkBradleyAJC


Danny Ferry, with Bruce Levenson in the background. (Johnny Crawford/AJC)

Two letters obtained by esteemed colleague Chris Vivlamore tell us all we need to know about the exile and eventual ouster of Danny Ferry as the Atlanta Hawks’ general manager. The first is from Bernard Taylor of the law firm Alston and Bird and absolves Ferry of any “racial, ethnic, or country of origination bias or animus.”

The second is from Todd Foreman, one of the three Washington-based owners of the group that will, thankfully and finally, fade into memory when the sale of the Hawks becomes official Wednesday. Writes Foreman to Ferry: “At the heart of this dispute was the unfortunate disagreement amongst owners.”

Let’s be clear. Ferry did speak/read the unfortunate words about Luol Deng — “he’s got a little African in him” — on a June 2014 conference call with team owners. But what happened afterward proved even rich people aren’t above acting petty. Ferry provided a lever for the Atlanta-based owners (the Michael Gearons Jr. and Sr., plus Rutherford Seydel) to unseat a GM they didn’t like not least because they’d had no hand in his hiring.

Bruce Levenson, head of the D.C. crew, essentially hired Ferry. (Gearon Jr. was out of the country at the time.) Ferry, who rebuilt the Hawks so well and completely that they’d win a franchise-best 60 games, was held up as Levenson’s pride, and that nettled the Gearon crew.

It didn’t help that Ferry was dismissive of Dominique Wilkins, whom the Gearons love, and brusque toward Gearon Sr., himself the GM himself back in the ’70s. But as much as Gearon Jr. might try to characterize the in-house investigation as a function of his longstanding abhorrence of racism, we ask this: Had he been the man who’d hired Ferry, had the Gearons liked Ferry even a little, wouldn’t a quiet word have sufficed?

Instead this became, to use Foreman’s words, another “unfortunate disagreement amongst owners,” and this one spilled into the public domain and wound up toppling the best GM this franchise has ever seen — a GM who, not incidentally, its own investigation found not guilty of racism. The final act of this wretched ownership was to agree to buy out Ferry, and even that yielded no agreement. From Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN: “The franchise’s Atlanta-based partnership voted against the buyout deal, according to sources.”

Of course it did.

Welcome to Atlanta.

The new unis are turrible

Actually, not too bad considering how I didn't care much for the new secondary logo (which looked worse in black and white than in color.)

Here's the unis:


and here's the reveal video:




Hawks CEO Steve Koonan sounds a bit "strange."

Story:
The Hawks' new uniforms are here, with triangles and 'volt green' for all

the ceo sounded like the start of a SNL skit.

(06-25-2015 09:38 AM)stever20 Wrote:  the ceo sounded like the start of a SNL skit.

Hawks CEO Steve Koonan reminds me of this notorious figure:

Former ‘NSYNC, Backstreet Boys Manager Lou Pearlman Arrested In Indonesia

The new Hawks jerseys are weird, so they're perfect for Atlanta
By Jason Kirk and Steven Godfrey on Jun 24, 2015, 12:32p 14
Hawks.com

Two Atlanta sports fans discuss an actual pro franchise actually going RED AND NEON GREEN.


Jason Kirk: Let's start with the obvious here. These uniforms combine bright-ass red and bright-ass green. That's not a thing uniforms do. How do you feel about this?

Steven Godfrey: I'm not sure it's the combination, honestly. It's really the bright-ass neon green. Bright-ass red feels like an Atlanta staple, what with the other pro teams. Red was even one of the 45 colors incorporated into the Thrashers' sweaters.

Jason: It bears mentioning that there's a precedent for that green. The Hawks' electric blue and neon green uniforms from the Pistol Pete days are one of the ... like, four unique things about the franchise's history, with the others being Slam Dunk Contest championships and ... blanking ...

Steven: Right. And your inability to cite historical moments in franchise history is why a few ill-advised neon years in the '70s are suddenly a tradition.

Jason: We take what we can get.

Steven: Uniforms are weird like that, though. Even really, really terrible uniforms -- and the NBA excels at both introducing these and then whisking them away -- find nostalgia at some point. The Hawks are embracing road crew safety vest neon as a tradition, but is that better or worse than the Pistons' teal era? I'd say it's a push.

Jason: Every team had a teal era. I'm pretty sure Notre Dame went teal at some point in 1996. Teal is the least claimable color on the whole palette. Neon is completely ours. Neither the Oregon Ducks nor the Seattle Seahawks had it first.

I like the neon for that historical connect, and also because this is Atlanta. This is the city of Andre 3000 and Young Thug. If you don't look a little weird here, then you look a little weird. And also because, as college football people, we've been conditioned to think of any clothing that makes us recoil as being Good For Recruiting.

"[T.I.] opened up a bag and pulled out a lime-green flat-billed New Era hat with the blue brim -- he just showed up with it. He said, 'Man, I want the green one,'" Matt Walks wrote about one local legend's favorite historic Hawks color. Tip's not alone.

Steven: I'm old enough to complain about this, but I think I'm still young enough to understand why it's happening. My desire for logos and apparel don't even come close to dovetailing with the target demo for any sports team.

Jason: It fits with the franchise's stated decision to give up on trying to win over golf dads in Dahlonega and Columbus. Young kids in Philips Arena's vicinity will like these for a long time.

Steven: Here's something worth mentioning. When I see a Braves hat on someone, I'll ask what part of the South they're from. They could be from anywhere. Raleigh, Orlando, Huntsville. When I see a Hawks or Falcons hat, I ask what part of Atlanta that person is from. Not Georgia, Atlanta. So if this boosts exposure for the franchise, let's do it.

Jason: You see Hawks hats?

Steven: In all honesty, I saw one in Birmingham recently and was shocked.

Jason: To be fair, I'm wearing one right now, but it's blue, which is no longer a Hawks color. And that's the thing that needed fixed; like half the NBA wears red and blue. One team in all of pro sports is crazy enough to wear blood red and BUY ONE GET ONE sunburst sticker green. I love that.

Steven: My condolence to the grumpy crowd is that the Pac-Man logo is still there. This won't effect your ability to rock a plain red t-shirt with the awesome, awesome Pac-Man Hawks logo. The real debate should be: Pac-Man but neon, or any other look in team history?

And hey, I wasn't planning on buying a jersey for casual wear before this happened. So why should I care, honestly? My favorite sports team in the world, the Falcons, wears black and red, my favorite colors, but if I could barter with the sports gods for a 19-0 season in chrome and taupe Under Armour uniforms, I'd do it.

Jason: Let's not give the Hawks any more ideas.

Steven: I do like the idea that somewhere right now, there's a young dad really angry about this. He was all ready to order his navy and red Kyle Korver jersey to wear to church picnics. But now, NO SIR.

Jason: It's beautiful. I'm happy. I bet my daughter will like them. The idea of that Cobb County grouch who's angry about the Hawks changing a uniform he never actually invested any emotion into in the first place? Bye. [No one yell at me. I live in Cobb County.] He'll be back aboard once the team makes the Conference Finals again and ... well, makes the Conference Finals.

Steven: I've been an Atlanta sports fan my entire life. You know what's weirder than neon green on a Hawks jersey? Talking about the Hawks in June. I'm a 34-year-old dad who watched more NBA this year than in the last 10 combined, because of the Hawks. I don't own a pair of shorts, and I wear cowboy boots every day. I really don't think the franchise was courting my demo.

If I can still rock one of those faux vintage logo t-shirts, driving around in my Honda Pilot, I'm fine with neon green. Make it all neon. Just win a title.

Jason: In closing, as far as neon goes: