This is Hawkward

While the NFL has undergone serious, and warranted, scrutiny over incidents revolving around big name players Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson, the NBA has seemingly flown under the radar this offseason. When the same domestic violence issues do unfortunately spill onto the court, NBA franchises have looked more capable in handling them.

For example, Charlotte Hornets (yes, the Bobcats no longer exist) forward Jeff Taylor was arrested early Thursday morning in East Lansing, Mich. and charged with domestic assault, assault and malicious destruction of property. The team promptly dismissed him from all team activities, which includes training camp. With the start of the season fast approaching, the Hornets did the right thing by ridding the locker room, and the NBA, of that type of presence.

But there are still intrinsic issues in the NBA that are not being addressed harshly enough. We all know about Donald Sterling, and Commissioner Adam Silver made all the right moves in enacting the harshest penalty possible for the Clippers former owner. But there was another incident this offseason involving leaked comments that were said in private. It was revealed that Atlanta Hawks General Manager Danny Ferry, in a conference call with Hawks owners, read a scouting report about then-free agent and current Miami Heat forward Luol Deng that stated that Deng had “a little African in him.”

Immediately following the incident, it seemed almost impossible for Ferry to keep his job. But then Ferry took a leave of absence and issued a longer, more heartfelt apology. Deng has forgiven Ferry for the racially charged comments. Various players with African ties have forgiven Ferry and do not believe him to be a racist, including Congo native and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka and two-time NBA champion and Nigerian-American center Hakeem Olajuwon. Olajuwon was recently appointed as the NBA’s Ambassador to Africa. Despite the support from the African NBA community, Ferry should not be the general manager of the Hawks, or any other team, for that matter. What complicates the matter even more is the Hawks are in the midst of an ownership change of their own.

Hawks owner Bruce Levenson’s ownership stake in the team is being sold after an email he wrote in 2012 expressed his desire for more “whites” to attend Hawks games. According to Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed, Levenson’s partners Ed Peskowitz and Todd Foreman are also selling their ownership stake. These three owners held the majority of Hawks ownership stake. Thus, there will be a new majority owner of the Hawks. If I were anyone with an ownership stake of the Hawks, I would not want Ferry as my general manager.

After all, the GM is the person who is supposed to lure free agents to join the family that is an NBA franchise and be a part of the community that houses it. What free agent is going to want to play for team with a general manager who expresses such views? According to New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony, “Nobody would want to go there.”

The issue runs deeper than whether a person is particularly proficient at building a championship roster or coaching a team. If Gregg Popovich, who is hailed by many as the best coach in the NBA, had said something in the same light of what Ferry said, he should not coach in the NBA again. The NBA should foster an atmosphere of inclusion, and Ferry’s actions should result in consequences.