Should Ferry Be Fired?

[SBM]

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/ ... er=ya5nbcs

It's only like front page yahoo story at this point. It has only been called a potentially franchise crippling statement by some business advisers. Also, he really hasn't done anything to make you have to keep him or give him much leeway. The teams record has regressed under him and so has the talent level.

All things considered should he be fired?

Update: New details that question rather this was Ferry's first racist comment towards players. He reportedly called Bonzi Well's a racist name years ago when he was in Portland.

[Jamaaliver]

Nicely worded post, SBM. Concise, straightforward.

An excerpt from Gearon's letter that echoes my thoughts:

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

We believe these comments by Ferry were far worse than Sterling’s because they were not from a private personal conversation—they were in a business environment on a business matter in front of a dozen or more people. 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.

I can't imagine what would make him think it was okay to say this in front of his bosses. There is no doubt this fiasco undermines Ferry's ability to do his job moving forward.

[Hawk Eye]

I might be the only one in favor on this board of blowing everything up..

UNLESS, we get a new owner who will go the length and the distance to make this team competitive and PROVE that he is willing to spend the big bucks. Otherwise I saw we blow it all up. Because let's face it we weren't getting top talent to begin with because no big name NBA player takes us seriously. So how in the heck are we going To attract top talent now after this Donald sterling 2.0 fiasco?? I mean would it not be beneficial to trade our most valuable pieces now for whatever we can get that fits best and tank the next 2-3 years earning multiple top 5 draft picks? Surely we'd find a gem somewhere I mean we found Horford with the 3rd pick. Any other thoughts or if anyone wants to weigh in on this post of mine feel free to do so

I mean Washington found wall & beal and now look at those two and that franchise. Wall & beal are a better fit then peanut butter & jelly for Pete's sake

[SBM]

Nicely worded post, SBM. Concise, straightforward.

An excerpt from Gearon's letter that echoes my thoughts:

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

We believe these comments by Ferry were far worse than Sterling’s because they were not from a private personal conversation—they were in a business environment on a business matter in front of a dozen or more people. 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.

I can't imagine what would make him think it was okay to say this in from of his bosses. There is no doubt this fiasco undermines Ferry's ability to do his job moving forward.

Honestly, this sounds about as bad as that cop in Ferguson that was caught on tape claiming he did not discriminate he would kill anyone. They are different situations but both show horrible judgement from leaders and decision makers and shine a bad light on the whole organization when these things get to the public because the first question is how do you have people like this in your organization and not know it?

[atlantabbq99]

If he just made one bad joke about Africans, then "no" he should not be fired, but if he made a dozen mildly racist jokes for years with the Hawks, then "yes" he should be fired.

If it is just one bad joke, then HR should just give him a warning and he should issue a public apology since now it has been made public.

For me, the joke itself is mild, but if he said something hardcore like the N word once, then yes, he should be fired.

[PandaKidd]

Yes he should be fired. If he said thus about Deng what else has he said? No one will come here now if he's GM

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[ATLHawksfan21]

I would need more information before I answered yes or no. I'm not a fan of the current popular trend in the U.S. of witchhunts where people's careers and lives are ruined over one lapse of judgment. I also think it is important to remember that Ferry read off of a scouting report and these words were not authored by him. People just seem way to eager to be the judge, jury and executioner these days and I'm not one of them. Every one makes mistakes and people should be given a chance to correct their mistakes as long as they are not extremely overboard like Sterling's.

I do think that Ferry should do some type of press conference where he comes completely clean and tells his side of the story. After that, get a feel for how the players around the league react to his statements and determine if keeping Ferry will be detrimental to the process of future player acquisitions. He should be let go if they determine that his further employment will hinder future player acquisitions.

[PandaKidd]

Someone is lieing.

Ferry says he was reading someone else's report, Gearon claims he wasn't

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[PandaKidd]

https://twitter.com/talkhoops/status/509298313426767873

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[Hawk Eye]

After reading all these tweets and issued statements, I just don't see how you bounce back from this. No player is going to want to come to ATL after all of this and definitely not to come play for Ferry.

[ATLHawksfan21]

After reading all these tweets and issued statements, I just don't see how you bounce back from this. No player is going to want to come to ATL after all of this and definitely not to come play for Ferry.

I think you are overestimating the will of athletes and people in general when it comes to issues like this. That fake hurt goes out the window quickly when a large contract and winning situation is on the table. People love to latch on to the hot topic and act like they care when it really doesn't matter that much to them. The KONY frenzy of 2012 is a great example of this. I believe that players will consider their chances of winning before one comment that was read off of a scouting report.

I think that it will be possible for Ferry to repair his image as long as this situation is handled correctly. It has long been public knowledge that Sterling was an actual racist and had done things to actually harm black people. I never saw a single player come out and say that they wouldn't play for Sterling until social media had a feeding frenzy with the leaked phone call. After the call was leaked, player's threatened action but still took no action.

[azuresou1]

I'd want more information before terminating Ferry. After all, if the law firm investigated tens of thousands/years worth of e-mails and calls, more evidence (or lack thereof) of Ferry's racism should be present one way or another.

As Panda points out it's suspicious that one party claims he was just reading a report while another claims he wasn't. That evidence should be available as well.

[PandaKidd]

Ferry claims the league office KNOWS for a fact he was reading another scouts report. I suspect that will come out.

What we have now is a coup, the other minority owners want Ferry and Levenson gone. Koonin wants ferry to stay.

All we can hope for is that whoever buys Levenson out, buys out all other minority owners and consolidates power.



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[Jamaaliver]

I've been thinking it over and there is one possible solution to keep Ferry (and by extension Budenholzer) with the franchise.

Ferry is publicly censured and "RE-ASSIGNED". He maintains the title of President of Basketball Operations. But a new GM is brought in. Likely a puppet head to enact Ferry's strategy. Do negotiations with players/agents.

Ferry gets exactly 22 months to enact his vision. (The exact amount of time left on Horford's contract.)

We keep our braintrust. The public sees Ferry's demotion. We get a new face in the front office to ease the transition.

If Horford turns 30 and walks away from a rebuilding Hawks franchise....we blow it all up and start supporting the Bobcats.

It's the only way Ferry can stay. If he remains behind the scenes.

[SBM]

Ferry isn't going anywhere and the Hawks will further damage there status as a franchise that is not serious

[ATLHawksfan21]

I've been thinking it over and there is one possible solution to keep Ferry (and by extension Budenholzer) with the franchise.

Ferry is publicly censured and "RE-ASSIGNED". He maintains the title of President of Basketball Operations. But a new GM is brought in. Likely a puppet head to enact Ferry's strategy. Do negotiations with players/agents.

Ferry gets exactly 22 months to enact his vision. (The exact amount of time left on Horford's contract.)

We keep our braintrust. The public sees Ferry's demotion. We get a new face in the front office to ease the transition.

If Horford turns 30 and walks away from a rebuilding Hawks franchise....we blow it all up and start supporting the Bobcats.

It's the only way Ferry can stay. If he remains behind the scenes.

I sort of disagree since I believe that Ferry can stay as GM. The evidence speaks for itself and the evidence seems to favor Ferry since Koonin chose to keep Ferry and he said that the outside source suggested a lighter punishment than the one that they gave Ferry. It also sounds like the league office has been given proof that Ferry read the quote straight from the scouting report. These outside investigators obviously did their due diligence since they were able to find an email by Levenson from 2012 and they were unable to find a single other piece of evidence against Ferry.

I would hope that players would be better than the ignorant general public and do their due diligence before wanting to send a man to eternal damnation for reading an inappropriate quote. Ferry has been around the league for decades and he should be well known throughout the league. I'm sure there will be plenty of people willing to vouch for him after the fake public outrage dies down if he is not a racist/prejudice person.

[td00]

Ferry may or may not survive this, but I can be confident in saying no future owner will allow him to retain his position.
Ferry boasts to us that he makes the decisions about this org and I totally disagree. He still needs approval and has not shown that he is in control. So far, all he has been successful at is not allowing rumors to get out about trades and FA signees.
His ability to draft successfully hovers at best around 50 percent. He does not show an instinct to find talent over other GMs.
Under DF, we are 28th in attendance out of 30. We are still continuous losers in the first round. We made the playoffs simply because Irving or Melo cannot lead their teams as superstars.
DF is fortunate to be in the East because he would be exposed in the West and the team that he has assembled has about as much chance as a 9-10 seed.
I'm a lifer Hawks fan, and so ready to move on from this management team.

[ATLHawksfan21]

Ferry may or may not survive this, but I can be confident in saying no future owner will allow him to retain his position.
Ferry boasts to us that he makes the decisions about this org and I totally disagree. He still needs approval and has not shown that he is in control. So far, all he has been successful at is not allowing rumors to get out about trades and FA signees.
His ability to draft successfully hovers at best around 50 percent. He does not show an instinct to find talent over other GMs.
Under DF, we are 28th in attendance out of 30. We are still continuous losers in the first round. We made the playoffs simply because Irving or Melo cannot lead their teams as superstars.
DF is fortunate to be in the East because he would be exposed in the West and the team that he has assembled has about as much chance as a 9-10 seed.
I'm a lifer Hawks fan, and so ready to move on from this management team.

This post is absolutely hilarious.

He doesn't show instinct to find talent over other GMs? but who were Millsap and Carroll. Two of the best deals signed in all of FA last season.

We only made the playoffs bc Irving and Melo can't lead their teams? LOLOLOL. It's more like we only barely made the playoffs because we had an insane amount of injuries. We would have moonwalked in to the playoffs last season if we were just average when it came to health.

and since when does a GM have a direct effect on attendance?

[Jamaaliver]

I sort of disagree since I believe that Ferry can stay as GM.

I cannot emphasize this enough. A new owner will want to bring in his own GM. This franchise is failing. By every possible metric. Revenue. Wins. Public Relations.

No new owner is going to buy a failing business and keep the old management in charge.

before wanting to send a man to eternal damnation for reading an inappropriate quote...

No one is sending him to eternal damnation. This is how true leadership works. When something unfortunate happens under your watch, you shoulder the blame for it. He's got millions in the bank, he's got contacts around the league. He'll be a special adviser for another team a year after this blows over.

Leaders often take the fall for things they are not directly responsible for. It's why they get paid more money and have more responsibility than their subordinates.

Again, age and perspective man.

Ferry may or may not survive this, but I can be confident in saying no future owner will allow him to retain his position.

BINGO!!!

[Jamaaliver]

...and since when does a GM have a direct effect on attendance?

Ferry is the GM and the President of Basketball Operations.

Attendance is absolutely under his umbrella.

He doesn't show instinct to find talent over other GMs? but who were Millsap and Carroll. Two of the best deals signed in all of FA last season.

No owner is going to spend Hundreds of millions on a broken product and keep the architect because he signed a couple of solid role players to a short contract one time.

As the steward of a team, you have to have vision and a plan for the future. Paul Millsap is a band aid. No more important than Christian Laettner, Shareef Abdur-Rahim or Mike Bibby.