The racially charged email that was sent two years ago by Atlanta Hawks owner Bruce Levenson reportedly came to light after a team meeting in June put the wheels in motion for an internal investigation.
It was at that meeting — less than two months after the NBA imposed a lifetime ban on Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling — when Hawks general manager Danny Ferry read a background report on a free agent target written by a source outside the organization that included a racist comment, according to ESPN.com.
Anonymous sources told ESPN that the scouting report focused on Luol Deng, an NBA all-star who was born in Sudan. Deng eventually signed with the Miami Heat.
That meeting prompted a Hawks stakeholder to call for an internal investigation, leading to the discovery of Levenson’s 2012 email to Ferry.
In the email, Levenson said that “southern whites” were uncomfortable at Hawks home games.
“My theory is that the black crowd scared away the whites and there are simply not enough affluent black fans to build a significant season ticket base,” he reportedly wrote.
Levenson said he self-reported the email to the NBA in July, and on Sunday he said he will sell his controlling interest in the team.
The Hawks have said that Ferry will be disciplined by the team, but ESPN reported that he will continue his role as general manager.
