Yes, but to an extent that doesn't matter (obviously if he hadn't been reading someone else's report, his career in the NBA would be over). If he reviewed that report before reading it aloud, he should have known that was unacceptable. Had it just said he had some African in him, I think he'd deserve a pass, but it went beyond that to make generalities of what that meant. The audio recording is key to knowing whether or not Ferry should have been fired.
I agree to the extent that he could have been delivering those lines as earnestly important, or he could have been confused by the comments, or he could have even been mocking the comments, as in, "I can't believe we paid this scout for this asinine report, can you guys? SMDH." It's also possible he didn't review that report before reading is aloud, but (a) that doesn't speak well of his prep, and (b) in that case, he definitely should have stopped reading at "African."
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Saj1EDHzbU8?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The difference is that there is not really a history of discrimination against Americans in Western nations. However, there is quite a long history of Africans and African-Americans being treated as second-class citizens in Europe and the USA. Focusing on race or ethnicity while promoting an insulting stereotype certainly plays into that history.
Well, if the Hawks owner doesn't want blacks at his games (as he has stated), then keeping Ferry as GM would be an effective way to meet his objective!
I agree with that and I thought about it when I made my reply. But the racism in this country was more about the inferiority of blacks and that isn't what Ferry was really getting at. The Ferry statement is more of a cultural comment along the lines of saying a white person still has a lot of "trailer park" in them. Sure it's offensive but I don't think it is something that somebody should be fired over.
Thanks for posting this. I didn't realize that there was uncertainty surrounding claim that Ferry was reading a scout's words verbatim. Curious to see if the alleged scouting report ever surfaces, void of the specific quote that is being cited as most offensive.
If Deng has two faced qualities and has been known to be a liar, I don't think it's worth being fired over. It's not PC but I don't think it's implying anything huge. If ferry just pulled it out of his ass then I think it constitutes vitriol, and he should be reprimanded. But those who have traveled outside of America know that Africans have a pretty sterling reputation as street vendors and sellers of illegal goods. Not that I look down on them for it- we all play the hands we're dealt. Is it really, really, that big a deal that Ferry highlighted a personal quality of a player?
In case anyone wants to hear the actual call: http://m.ajc.com/weblogs/atlanta-hawks/2014/sep/11/exclusive-audio-tape-hawks-conference-call/
Totally reading a scouting report. Would love to see more scouting reports from Danny (& company). <object id="flashObj" width="615" height="392" classid="clsid27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="videoId=3780601674001&linkBaseURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ajc.com%2Fvideos%2Fnews%2Fdanny-ferry-conference-call%2FvCrmFh%2F&playerID=1496419233001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAAFAsZ1c~,8MkVRvW0DmZFs_e8XvyYcKfEsZNnoWca&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=3780601674001&linkBaseURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ajc.com%2Fvideos%2Fnews%2Fdanny-ferry-conference-call%2FvCrmFh%2F&playerID=1496419233001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAAFAsZ1c~,8MkVRvW0DmZFs_e8XvyYcKfEsZNnoWca&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="615" height="392" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" swLiveConnect="true" allowScriptAccess="always" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object>
Why didn't he just say he was two faced and leave it at that. He has already been given the all clear "Not A Racist" stamp from Silver.
Yeah that was not just reading a scouting report. That was bad. Arguably worse than what Sterling said.
People wonder why Morey is a good GM... because he is going up against guys like THAT. Not only does Ferry lack basic respect, he spend several minutes saying a whole bunch of nothing. He literally could have said "Deng is two faced. Next question." The guy was a disaster/bust as a player. He was terrible in the front office in Cleveland and only has a job because of experience. Simply stated he sucks. Just imagine if Ferry had signed Deng...
I can't hear it clearly, but it does sound like he says something to the effect that "mumble mumbel --- that's absolutely not me, I can't believe someone would come out and say that" right after the quote in question.
"He's a good guy overall, but he's not perfect. He's got some African in him. And I don't say that in a bad way other than he's a guy that...he has a store front out front that's beautiful and great, but he may be selling some counterfeit stuff behind you. And, when I say that I mean, for example, he could come out and be an unnamed source for a story and two days later come out and say 'That was absolutely not me. I can't believe someone said that.' But talking with reporters you know it's him. He could be a lawyer in the locker room when the coach is not around, but when the coach is around he is the greatest guy in the world. For example, in Chicago, they would tell you that he was good for their culture but he was not a culture setter. He played hurt and you know all those things, but he was very worried about his bobblehead being the last one given away that year. Or that there is not enough stuff of him in the team store. So, he's kind of a little bit of a complex guy."
Even if he was just reading some scout's words, without an announcement that the scout was fired, Ferry has no plausible deniability. Either Ferry said it himself, in which case he has to go, or he was reading it, in which case the scout has to go and Ferry probably should go too. Monty Python pretty well summed it up: We apologise for the fault in the subtitles. Those responsible have been sacked.... We apologise again for the fault in the subtitles. Those responsible for sacking the people who have just been sacked have been sacked.
Yeah, it's being overblown. Anyone who's sat in on a conference call knows there's a lot of opinion instead of fact, and Deng's character definitely warrants discussion. The African comment by the original scout can be seen as racist, but it obviously wasn;t Ferry's doing and was more about the metaphor of being two faced and a snake as opposed to "African".
