-by-example sort of guy and highly respected in the playin

ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Hawks are sticking with general manager Danny Ferry even though the teams new majority owner wants him fired for racially charged comments about Luol Deng. Custom Baltimore Orioles Jerseys . CEO Steve Koonin on Tuesday told the Hawks flagship radio station that he made the decision to discipline Ferry but allowed him to keep his job managing the team. He did not say what the punishment was, but noted that he relied on a law firms three-month investigation of Ferry and him describing Deng as someone who "has a little African in him." Ferry made the inflammatory comments about Deng in a conference call with the Hawks ownership group in June when the team pursued Deng as a free agent. Deng, who now plays for the Miami Heat, responded saying, "Im proud to say I actually have a lot of African in me, not just a little." A letter from co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. recommends that Ferry resign or be fired. Gearon said Ferry made that description of Deng to the teams ownership group. His June 12 letter to co-owner Bruce Levenson said Ferry went on to say, "Not in a bad way, but hes like a guy who would have a nice store out front and sell you counterfeit stuff out of the back." Added Gearon: "Ferry completed the racial slur by describing the player (and impliedly all persons of African descent) as a two-faced liar and cheat." Deng, 29, was born in what is now South Sudan. His father moved his family to Egypt and then England. The 10-year NBA veteran is now a British citizen, played for England in the 2012 Olympics and said hes proud to represent his heritage "on the highest stage." Deng, like Ferry, also played at Duke. "Every person should have the right to be treated with respect and evaluated as an individual, rather than be reduced to a stereotype," Deng said. "I am saddened and disappointed that this way of thinking still exists today. I am even more disturbed that it was shared so freely in a business setting." Koonin said Atlanta law firm Alston and Bird went through 24,000 documents, conducted 19 interviews and read "every email Danny Ferry has ever sent as general manager of the Atlanta Hawks." Koonin said no other negative information on Ferry was found in the probe. "I took their advice and far exceeded their advice," Koonin said of the undisclosed punishment he imposed on Ferry. Hawks spokesman Garin Narain said the investigation of Ferrys comments uncovered a racially inflammatory email written two years ago by Levenson. That discovery led to Levensons announcement Sunday that he will sell his controlling share of the team. Despite Gearons desire to remove Ferry, Koonin is standing by him. "I understand that emotion," Koonin said of Gearons recommendation. "I certainly understand that emotion. I know people who have said that to me. But if we sentence people based on what everybody wanted, we wouldnt have a justice system. "I listened to what (the law firm) said because they had done the work ... so thats a decision Im willing to live with." Gearon warned Levenson he believed Ferrys comments "could be fatal to the franchise" if made public. Gearon said he and the other co-owners "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." Gearon declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press on Tuesday. Ferry apologized Tuesday but said he was only repeating what he had heard about Deng. "In regards to the insensitive remarks that were used during our due diligence process, I was repeating comments that were gathered from numerous sources during background conversations and scouting about different players," Ferry said in a statement released by the team. "I repeated those comments during a telephone conversation reviewing the draft and free agency process. Those words do not reflect my views, or words that I would use to describe an individual and I certainly regret it. I apologize to those I offended and to Luol, who I reached out to Monday morning." Koonin has agreed to meet with Atlanta civil rights leaders on Wednesday. The Rev. Markel Hutchins said Monday he asked for the meeting to discuss what he believes is a racist attitude throughout the organization. In his letter to Levenson, Gearon compared Ferrys remarks to much-publicized racist comments which forced Donald Sterling to sell the Clippers. "We believe these comments by Ferry were far worse than Sterlings 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," Gearon wrote. "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." Ferry was named the Hawks general manager in 2012 following two years as vice-president of basketball operations for the San Antonio Spurs. He was general manager for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2005-2010 and helped build the team that advanced to the 2007 NBA Finals. There was renewed optimism about the direction of the team after Ferry hired coach Mike Budenholzer from San Antonio in 2013. Now, the turmoil threatens to derail all their efforts. New ownership must be found and despite the support of Koonin, Ferrys ability to survive the crisis is unknown. In his letter of apology, Ferry pledged he would learn from the incident. "I am committed to learning from this and deeply regret this situation," Ferry said. "I fully understand we have work to do in order to help us create a better organization; one that our players and fans will be proud of, on and off the court, and that is where my focus is moving forward." Fake Orioles Jerseys .ca. In addition to the game being aired in its entirety on CTV Two Vancouver Island and TSN.ca, TSN2 will also have coverage of Whitecaps FC immediately following NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Toyota Owners 400. Orioles Jerseys China . Selected by the Titans in the 2007 NFL Draft, Johnson rejoined the club last season after a five-year stint with Indianapolis. https://www.cheaporioles.com/ . -- Nelson Cruz has only two hits in 15 at-bats against the Kansas City Royals this season.BRISBANE, Australia -- Australia hooker Stephen Moore will be sidelined for the rest of the season after rupturing the anterior cruciate and medial ligaments in his left knee during his first test as Wallabies rugby captain on Saturday. Moore needs a total knee reconstruction after suffering the injury while making a tackle in the 15th minute of Saturdays first test against France at Suncorp Stadium. Australia went on to win 50-23 as Moore, in his 92nd test, watched from the sideline. Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie said Moores injury "leaves a bit of a void because we had put a lot of things in the pipeline." Lock Sam Carter, who suffered an ankle injury in the seventh minute of his debut test, will also miss the rest of the series. Carter played the full 80 minutes of the match, despite suffering a high ankle strain in the opening minutes. "That really gives you an idea how tough the bloke is," McKenzie said. "He showed great resilience and (the injury) didnt show up at all (in his play)." Flanker Michael Hooper, who replaced Moore as captain for the last 75 mintues of Saturdays match, is likkely to retain the role in next weekends second test at Melbourne. Wholesale Orioles Jerseys. Hooper, at 22, became the youngest Wallabies captain in 67 years. If continues as captain for the remainder of the France series -- tests in Melbourne and Sydney over the next two weekends -- he may be accepting something of a poisoned chalice. Since McKenzie took over as coach, Rocky Elsom, James Horwill (three times), David Pocock, Will Genia (twice) and Ben Mowen have all had turns as Australia skipper, and in each case their captaincy was short-lived due to injury or loss of form. McKenzie stopped short of confirming Hooper as captain on Sunday but praised his leadership against France. "He has a style about (his leadership) that I respect," McKenzie said. "It didnt affect his playing, he played exceptionally well and thats part of it too. "I cant think of many players who play as consistently well as he does. I dont think Ive seen him have an off day. He fronts up and is in every game. "Hes a lead-by-example sort of guy and highly respected in the playing group - theyre all good attributes." ' ' '