Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri offered his take on the recent controversy surrounding Danny Ferry and the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday, saying he hopes for learning and forgiveness after the uncovering of offensive comments by Ferry and a departing owner last weekend.
Masai Ujiri says he will forgive Danny Ferry
The Raptors GM and native of Nigeria weighed in on the recent controversy surrounding his peer, Danny Ferry, on Thursday.
The native of Nigeria wrote an op-ed for The Globe and Mail weighing in on the situation.
”You discover a person’s true character in their ability to learn from and then move on from those mistakes. One of the truly important things we must learn is how to forgive.
Danny’s mistake will remain tied to him for a long time. What he’s said can’t be unsaid, but we must measure his heart. If he has made an honest, isolated error, we should forgive and move on.”
The article from Ujiri, a former NBA Executive of the Year, comes days after the announcement that Bruce Levenson would sell his shares in the Hawks after the revelation of a business email containing offensive statements concerning race and the team’s fan base.
The heat then turned to Ferry after it was reported that Levenson's email was only discovered as a result of an organization-wide investigation following an offensive statement made by the Hawks GM during a phone call discussing veteran forward Luol Deng.
The Raptors GM questioned Ferry’s reported statement that Deng “has got some African in him,” by asking precisely what’s wrong with that:
When I first heard it, I wondered, “What does that mean?” I am an African from Nigeria. Luol is an African from South Sudan. We’ve worked together across our home continent, holding our own basketball camps, as well as in those organized by the NBA.
I remember an instance, in Kigali, Rwanda, when Luol honoured a commitment to show up despite being seriously ill. He didn’t want to disappoint any of the children who were expecting him.
Is that “a little bit of African”?
His fellow NBA players have named him the NBA’s top sportsman. Last year, his work for charity earned him the league’s J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship award.
Is that the “African” he means?
Ujiri says he already spoke to Ferry about the incident, and that Ferry apologized to him and others, including Deng. More importantly, he hopes this situation doesn’t negatively impact opportunities for young players in Africa and instead allows for Ferry and others to learn from their mistakes.
That’s why he hopes to see Ferry at one of his camps in Africa soon:
My hope is that we will soon see Danny Ferry at a Basketball Without Borders camp as well, so that he may come to know us.
Because when we know better, we do better.
Ujiri says he’s known Ferry “for a few years,” and “always thought he carries himself well. He’s tough. I respect that.”
So the Raptors executive says he was " taken aback" by the news, which led him to seek out fellow basketball people who had worked with Ferry in the past, like Spurs GM R.C. Buford and Raptors adviser Wayne Embry. They spoke highly of Ferry:
Both of these men, whom I trust so much, are close to Danny. They have nothing but great things to say about him. The league is a small world. Other people I’ve spoken to who know Danny well say that he has never done anything they’ve seen to suggest he holds racist views.
That’s why Ujiri hopes this is ultimately a one-time learning experience for Ferry, who still has his job with the Hawks after receiving an unknown punishment. For now, the two will continue working as peers, and Ujiri is preparing to move on from this.
See More:
