Q: We reported that the Bernard Taylor investigation cleared you of any racial animus regarding your remarks about Luol Deng. Do you feel vindicated? Danny Ferry: That’s not really for me to say. But I do feel relieved. I’ve been asking the Hawks for many months to release the results of the Taylor investigation because I wanted everyone to have those facts. For whatever reason, the team refused to release the results until after the season ended. The Taylor investigation included 19 interviews of Hawks owners and employees, and a review of 24,000 emails—including every one I wrote and received as general manager. Both the Taylor investigation and a parallel but independent investigation by the NBA found no negative information about me and not a single incident where I exhibited racial bias during my tenure. Now, does that make my comments about Luol okay? Absolutely not. The words I used from the scouting report came out of my mouth and they were totally inappropriate. I am deeply sorry and take full responsibility.
Danny Ferry Rumors
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Danny Ferry
Position: -
Born: 10/17/66
Height: 6-10 / 2.08
Weight:235 lbs. / 106.6 kg.
Earnings: $44,243,000 ($73,981,780*)
Born: 10/17/66
Height: 6-10 / 2.08
Weight:235 lbs. / 106.6 kg.
Earnings: $44,243,000 ($73,981,780*)
The law firm that investigated former Atlanta Hawks general manager Danny Ferry said it found no evidence that his comments on a conference call about NBA forward Luol Deng were “motivated by racial, ethnic, or country of origination bias or animus,” and that Ferry repeated comments that were not his own, according to documents obtained by ESPN.
An independent investigation has found former Atlanta Hawks general manager Danny Ferry was not motivated by racial bias in making statements which ultimately ended his time with the team. A letter summarizing the investigation by the Atlanta law firm Alston & Bird was obtained Saturday by The Associated Press, as was a letter from Hawks co-owner Todd Foreman to Ferry. The Hawks agreed to a buyout of the final two years of Ferry’s contract on Friday. Ferry spent this season on an indefinite leave of absence following his racially derogatory comments about potential free agent Luol Deng.
Alston & Bird partner Bernard Taylor said in the letter, dated Friday, that the review of more than 24,000 documents and 19 interviews provided no evidence of “negative bias toward Mr. Deng, his race or his country of origin.” Foreman’s letter, also dated Friday, said Ferry was not the cause of the controversy. “At the heart of this dispute was an unfortunate disagreement amongst owners,” Foreman said.
The Atlanta Hawks board approved a buyout of general manager Danny Ferry’s contract at a meeting Friday. The controlling majority voted in favor of the buyout, which will pay Ferry more than the remaining balance on the final three years of his six-year contract with the Hawks, according to league sources. The majority group from Washington will assume the balance.
