((HT: Fox News/AJC))
It appears that an internal background report that described a potential free agent pick-up may have sparked the whole "Bruce Levenson is now selling the Atlanta Hawks" turn of events...
A report linked to Luol Deng had some racially-insensitive words attached to it. GM Danny Ferry read the unedited report aloud in the meeting and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Chris Vivlamore has the paragraph in question as:
“He is still a young guy overall. He is a good guy overall. But he is not perfect. He’s got some African in him. And I don’t say that in a bad way.”
The background information on Deng had not been vetted appropriately and led to it being read in its entirety. GM Danny Ferry will be disciplined, but not fired for his recitation in the meeting.
The paragraph led to an internal investigation by the team's law firm. The firm then spoke to 19 people and reviewed over 24,000 documents, Hawks CEO Steve Koonin told the AJC over the weekend. It was during the investigation that the Levenson e-mail directed to Ferry and co-owners Ed Peskowitz and Todd Foreman was discovered.
Here's the HQ's alter ego discussing Levenson with FOSG Jonathan Serrie
((ed note--You'll have to click on the link HERE to watch because Fox's Webmaster is having a bad day and didn't code correctly and we can't fix it. --Go to about the 1min mark on the video))
Showing posts with label e-mail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label e-mail. Show all posts
Monday, September 8, 2014
Sunday, September 7, 2014
DEVELOPING: Levenson To Sell Hawks Interest After "Racist E-Mail" Discovered (UPDATED With E-Mail))
((HT: Yahoo!Sports-Wojnarowski))
The Atlanta Hawks are the schleprock of the NBA...
No matter who the owner is and how much alleged investment is involved and/or promised to the community, nothing has changed since the days of Ted Turner being the media mogul/magnate and the days of Dominique versus Larry Bird.
The destination is as undesirable as you can get. The fan base small at best and the town is apathetic toward the franchise since the cirle of life lends itself to no marquee players- which means there is little reason to wander to a downtown arena in a mediocre conference where playoff appearances are, literally, assured and the team has to overpay to bring talent in- or get them to stay.
Remember Joe Johnson...???
So, when Adrian Wojnarowski announced on his Twitter feed that Levenson was selling, the HQ has the distinct feeling that some other action was on the cusp of happening (oh, like, a lawsuit or something...) and Levenson is out...
Commissioner Adam Silver released the following statement once the e-mail was discovered...
An e-mail written in 2012...
“Following Bruce Levenson notifying the league office this July of his August 2012 email, the NBA commenced an independent investigation regarding the circumstances of Mr. Levenson’s comments.
Prior to the completion of the investigation, Mr. Levenson notified me last evening that he had decided to sell his controlling interest in the Atlanta Hawks. As Mr. Levenson acknowledged, the views he expressed are entirely unacceptable and are in stark contrast to the core principles of the National Basketball Association. He shared with me how truly remorseful he is for using those hurtful words and how apologetic he is to the entire NBA family – fans, players, team employees, business partners and fellow team owners – for having diverted attention away from our game.
I commend Mr. Levenson for self-reporting to the league office, for being fully cooperative with the league and its independent investigator, and for putting the best interests of the Hawks, the Atlanta community, and the NBA first.
We will be working with the Hawks ownership group on the appropriate process for the sale of the team and I have offered our full support to Hawks CEO Steve Koonin, who will now oversee all team operations.
The NBA and its teams have long had in place anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies in order to facilitate respectful and diverse workplaces. Earlier this summer, the league re-doubled its efforts by, among other things, making it mandatory for all league and team personnel to receive annual training on these issues."
Levenson issued a statement where he touched on what was said as he was trying to figure out:
ways to increase attendance at games:
"In trying to address those issues, an e-mail I wrote 2 years ago that was inappropriate and offensive. I trivialized our fans by making cliched assumptions about their interests and by stereotyping their assumptions about one another."
"By focusing on race, I also sent the unintentional and hurtful message that our white fans are more valuable than our black fans."
"If you're angry about what I wrote, you should be. I'm angry at myself, too. It was inflammatory nonsense. We all may have subtle biases and preconceptions when it comes to race, but my role as a leader is to challenge them, not to validate or accommodate those who might hold them."
The Hawks, and their interim CEO Steve Koonin released their own statement:
To the City of Atlanta and Hawks Fans,
Today’s statement from Controlling Owner Bruce Levenson is extremely disappointing and the email that he sent over two years ago was alarming, offensive and most of all, completely unacceptable and does not reflect the principles and values of the Hawks organization. In partnership with the NBA, we will work to ensure that a new ownership team will be put in place that is united and committed to the Atlanta community.
Steve Koonin
CEO, Atlanta Hawks
It marks the next, and now, last involvement of the Atlanta Spirit, LLC group in this market that has been nothing short of an absymal failure on multiple levels- arena, ownership, legal battles, behind-the-scenes desires to sell, the loss of a hockey franchise, and now "racist" e-mails that are sending them out of town on rail...
But far too late for any of it to matter as, the HQ is certain, there are very few tears shed...
Exhibit A being below...
((HT: Sportsnet))
For the record, here's a link to the full e-mail which says in part:
My theory is that the black crowd scared away the whites and there are simply not enough affluent
black fans to build a signficant season ticket base. Please dont get me wrong. There was nothing
threatening going on in the arean back then. i never felt uncomfortable, but i think southern whites
simply were not comfortable being in an arena or at a bar where they were in the minority. On fan sites i
would read comments about how dangerous it is around philips yet in our 9 years, i don't know of a
mugging or even a pick pocket incident. This was just racist garbage. When I hear some people saying
the arena is in the wrong place I think it is code for there are too many blacks at the games.
I have been open with our executive team about these concerns. I have told them I want some white
cheerleaders and while i don't care what the color of the artist is, i want the music to be music familiar
to a 40 year old white guy if that's our season tixs demo. i have also balked when every fan picked out of
crowd to shoot shots in some time out contest is black. I have even bitched that the kiss cam is too
black.
Not good...
The Atlanta Hawks are the schleprock of the NBA...
No matter who the owner is and how much alleged investment is involved and/or promised to the community, nothing has changed since the days of Ted Turner being the media mogul/magnate and the days of Dominique versus Larry Bird.
The destination is as undesirable as you can get. The fan base small at best and the town is apathetic toward the franchise since the cirle of life lends itself to no marquee players- which means there is little reason to wander to a downtown arena in a mediocre conference where playoff appearances are, literally, assured and the team has to overpay to bring talent in- or get them to stay.
Remember Joe Johnson...???
So, when Adrian Wojnarowski announced on his Twitter feed that Levenson was selling, the HQ has the distinct feeling that some other action was on the cusp of happening (oh, like, a lawsuit or something...) and Levenson is out...
Commissioner Adam Silver released the following statement once the e-mail was discovered...
An e-mail written in 2012...
“Following Bruce Levenson notifying the league office this July of his August 2012 email, the NBA commenced an independent investigation regarding the circumstances of Mr. Levenson’s comments.
Prior to the completion of the investigation, Mr. Levenson notified me last evening that he had decided to sell his controlling interest in the Atlanta Hawks. As Mr. Levenson acknowledged, the views he expressed are entirely unacceptable and are in stark contrast to the core principles of the National Basketball Association. He shared with me how truly remorseful he is for using those hurtful words and how apologetic he is to the entire NBA family – fans, players, team employees, business partners and fellow team owners – for having diverted attention away from our game.
I commend Mr. Levenson for self-reporting to the league office, for being fully cooperative with the league and its independent investigator, and for putting the best interests of the Hawks, the Atlanta community, and the NBA first.
We will be working with the Hawks ownership group on the appropriate process for the sale of the team and I have offered our full support to Hawks CEO Steve Koonin, who will now oversee all team operations.
The NBA and its teams have long had in place anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies in order to facilitate respectful and diverse workplaces. Earlier this summer, the league re-doubled its efforts by, among other things, making it mandatory for all league and team personnel to receive annual training on these issues."
Levenson issued a statement where he touched on what was said as he was trying to figure out:
ways to increase attendance at games:
"In trying to address those issues, an e-mail I wrote 2 years ago that was inappropriate and offensive. I trivialized our fans by making cliched assumptions about their interests and by stereotyping their assumptions about one another."
"By focusing on race, I also sent the unintentional and hurtful message that our white fans are more valuable than our black fans."
"If you're angry about what I wrote, you should be. I'm angry at myself, too. It was inflammatory nonsense. We all may have subtle biases and preconceptions when it comes to race, but my role as a leader is to challenge them, not to validate or accommodate those who might hold them."
The Hawks, and their interim CEO Steve Koonin released their own statement:
To the City of Atlanta and Hawks Fans,
Today’s statement from Controlling Owner Bruce Levenson is extremely disappointing and the email that he sent over two years ago was alarming, offensive and most of all, completely unacceptable and does not reflect the principles and values of the Hawks organization. In partnership with the NBA, we will work to ensure that a new ownership team will be put in place that is united and committed to the Atlanta community.
Steve Koonin
CEO, Atlanta Hawks
It marks the next, and now, last involvement of the Atlanta Spirit, LLC group in this market that has been nothing short of an absymal failure on multiple levels- arena, ownership, legal battles, behind-the-scenes desires to sell, the loss of a hockey franchise, and now "racist" e-mails that are sending them out of town on rail...
But far too late for any of it to matter as, the HQ is certain, there are very few tears shed...
Exhibit A being below...
((HT: Sportsnet))
For the record, here's a link to the full e-mail which says in part:
My theory is that the black crowd scared away the whites and there are simply not enough affluent
black fans to build a signficant season ticket base. Please dont get me wrong. There was nothing
threatening going on in the arean back then. i never felt uncomfortable, but i think southern whites
simply were not comfortable being in an arena or at a bar where they were in the minority. On fan sites i
would read comments about how dangerous it is around philips yet in our 9 years, i don't know of a
mugging or even a pick pocket incident. This was just racist garbage. When I hear some people saying
the arena is in the wrong place I think it is code for there are too many blacks at the games.
I have been open with our executive team about these concerns. I have told them I want some white
cheerleaders and while i don't care what the color of the artist is, i want the music to be music familiar
to a 40 year old white guy if that's our season tixs demo. i have also balked when every fan picked out of
crowd to shoot shots in some time out contest is black. I have even bitched that the kiss cam is too
black.
Not good...
Friday, August 29, 2014
"Anchor Down" Almost Gets Vandy A Penalty
((HT: ESPN/SEC Network))
Let's face it...
It was a long night for Vandy football in their Derek Mason debut...
A long lightning delay and torrential rains kept fans out of the stadium, the doors locked, and kickoff pushed back an hour and fifty minutes. Temple took care of business 37-7 and there was even a fat guy TD in the game that ended close to 2AM eastern time.
But the game didn't even start well for the Dores. They had their catch phrase, "Anchor Down," on their backs instead of nicknames- which made for a very cool effect. The refs weren't sold, but they should have left the idea alone.
When was the last time you saw an e-mail shown to an official to wipe out a penalty...???
That was, definintely, a first...
1:30 PM Update:
This from Chuck Dunlap, SEC Director of Communications
"A miscommunication resulted in Vanderbilt wearing jerseys during its football game Thursday night that are not permissible under the NCAA football uniform regulations. Before production of the jerseys, Vanderbilt sought approval of the jersey design from the NCAA, which included the words “Anchor Down” on the back panel. The NCAA responded with written approval of the design as presented and Vanderbilt proceeded with the jersey production, assuming the approval was applicable to the slogan as well as the colors and overall design in the submitted layout."
"NCAA football regulations do not permit the use of slogans on jerseys. Vanderbilt was originally penalized for the jerseys during the game and after being shown the written correspondence, the head referee also interpreted the correspondence to mean the slogan had been approved. Vanderbilt has been notified it cannot wear the slogan on its jersey for future games and has agreed to comply."
Let's face it...
It was a long night for Vandy football in their Derek Mason debut...
A long lightning delay and torrential rains kept fans out of the stadium, the doors locked, and kickoff pushed back an hour and fifty minutes. Temple took care of business 37-7 and there was even a fat guy TD in the game that ended close to 2AM eastern time.
But the game didn't even start well for the Dores. They had their catch phrase, "Anchor Down," on their backs instead of nicknames- which made for a very cool effect. The refs weren't sold, but they should have left the idea alone.
When was the last time you saw an e-mail shown to an official to wipe out a penalty...???
That was, definintely, a first...
1:30 PM Update:
This from Chuck Dunlap, SEC Director of Communications
"A miscommunication resulted in Vanderbilt wearing jerseys during its football game Thursday night that are not permissible under the NCAA football uniform regulations. Before production of the jerseys, Vanderbilt sought approval of the jersey design from the NCAA, which included the words “Anchor Down” on the back panel. The NCAA responded with written approval of the design as presented and Vanderbilt proceeded with the jersey production, assuming the approval was applicable to the slogan as well as the colors and overall design in the submitted layout."
"NCAA football regulations do not permit the use of slogans on jerseys. Vanderbilt was originally penalized for the jerseys during the game and after being shown the written correspondence, the head referee also interpreted the correspondence to mean the slogan had been approved. Vanderbilt has been notified it cannot wear the slogan on its jersey for future games and has agreed to comply."
Gotta love corporate efficiency.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
OSG Prem: Was Vincent Tan Right The Whole Time...???
((HT: Sky Sports))
The prevailing thought was the Malky Mackay was the frontrunner for the vacant Crystal Palace manager's position. But in a quick turn of events, Mackay's offer was pulled from the table and his buddy, Iain Moody, CPFC's Sporting Director resigned in a hurry from his post.
Seems Tan sent a series of documents to the Football Association for review that show Mackay's alleged lack of tact, abusive, homophobic, bigoted language in e-mails, and lack of respect for the game- three things the FA doesn't take too kindly to... 70,000 e-mails and 100,000 texts worth while Mackay and Moody worked at Cardiff City.
The Daily Mail has the full story hyah...
Here's the update from Sky Sports
A statement from Palace about Moody read: "In light of the events of yesterday, sporting director Iain Moody has tendered his resignation and it has been accepted with immediate effect. There will be no further comment from the club on this matter."
Remember, Mackay launched a £7.5m legal claim against Tan for compensation and wrongful dismissal after he was sacked. But he dropped the claim in May and issued an apology to Tan.
Why, the HQ is unsure...
Former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood is now the favorite to take over.
But, at the same time, Mackay is ready to defend himself in the matter...
The prevailing thought was the Malky Mackay was the frontrunner for the vacant Crystal Palace manager's position. But in a quick turn of events, Mackay's offer was pulled from the table and his buddy, Iain Moody, CPFC's Sporting Director resigned in a hurry from his post.
Seems Tan sent a series of documents to the Football Association for review that show Mackay's alleged lack of tact, abusive, homophobic, bigoted language in e-mails, and lack of respect for the game- three things the FA doesn't take too kindly to... 70,000 e-mails and 100,000 texts worth while Mackay and Moody worked at Cardiff City.
The Daily Mail has the full story hyah...
Here's the update from Sky Sports
A statement from Palace about Moody read: "In light of the events of yesterday, sporting director Iain Moody has tendered his resignation and it has been accepted with immediate effect. There will be no further comment from the club on this matter."
Remember, Mackay launched a £7.5m legal claim against Tan for compensation and wrongful dismissal after he was sacked. But he dropped the claim in May and issued an apology to Tan.
Why, the HQ is unsure...
Former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood is now the favorite to take over.
But, at the same time, Mackay is ready to defend himself in the matter...
Friday, December 20, 2013
Atlanta Deputy COO Suspended For Anti-Braves E-Mail
((HT: MyFoxAtlanta))
This is not how to endear yourself to a professional sports franchise...
It was announced recently that the Atlanta Braves were moving to the suburbs- a sore spot for the government of the City of Atlanta, for sure, but Atlanta Deputy COO Hans Utz floated an e-mail slapping the franchise...
It read in part:
"They are not going to be calling themselves the Cobb Crackers or Smyrna (expletive deleted). They will be the Atlanta Braves and that's an indication of the value of the city..."
Yeah...
That went over well...
Atlanta News, Weather, Traffic, and Sports | FOX 5
Utz was suspended for 3 days without pay this week...
Mayor Kasim Reed responded publicly to 11Alive-WXIA reporter Paul Crawley
This is not how to endear yourself to a professional sports franchise...
It was announced recently that the Atlanta Braves were moving to the suburbs- a sore spot for the government of the City of Atlanta, for sure, but Atlanta Deputy COO Hans Utz floated an e-mail slapping the franchise...
It read in part:
"They are not going to be calling themselves the Cobb Crackers or Smyrna (expletive deleted). They will be the Atlanta Braves and that's an indication of the value of the city..."
Yeah...
That went over well...
Atlanta News, Weather, Traffic, and Sports | FOX 5
Utz was suspended for 3 days without pay this week...
Mayor Kasim Reed responded publicly to 11Alive-WXIA reporter Paul Crawley
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