Posted on 09/07/2014 7:18:51 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Months after advocating for the removal of former Clippers owner Donald Sterling due to racist comments that were caught on tape, Hawks owner Bruce Levenson has decided to sell his controlling interest in the team because of a 2012 email in which he expressed racial stereotypes about his fan base.
The NBA announced Sunday that Levenson agreed to sell his stake in the team before a league investigation of the email could be completed.
"The views he expressed are entirely unacceptable and are in stark contrast to the core principles of the National Basketball Association," commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. "He shared with me how truly remorseful he is for using those hurtful words and how apologetic he is to the entire NBA family – fans, players, team employees, business partners and fellow team owners – for having diverted attention away from our game."
Levenson, who made his fortune as a co-founder of United Communications Group, had served as Atlanta's representative at NBA Board of Governors meetings since 2004. Hawks COO Steve Koonin will oversee team operations during the sale process.
The email in question -- which Levenson called "inappropriate and offensive" and which he self-reported to the NBA, according to Silver -- was sent in August 2012. Stemming from his desire for the Hawks to build up a "more diverse fan base that includes more suburban whites," Levenson acknowledged that he leaned on stereotypes to describe groups of fans.
"I trivialized our fans by making clichéd assumptions about their interests (i.e. hip hop vs. country, white vs. black cheerleaders, etc.) and by stereotyping their perceptions of one another (i.e. that white fans might be afraid of our black fans).
(Excerpt) Read more at si.com ...
Let’s define the word “racism” again to see if what he did meets the definition... here’s what my dictionary says:
rac·ism
noun
“the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.”
“prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior”
Did what he did meet the definition of the word?
Bruce Levenson must be white, because the only racists in the world are white, right. /s
I want my $2 Billion
What a messed up country and world we live in. It’s like we are under a form of SHARIA LAW In the US today
Why would he sell? MONEY!!!!Atlanta sucks!!
Maybe they could find a racist email from Jerry Jones.
I think he’s pulling a Jedi mind trick and probably wanted to sell. Why else would he “out” himself?
So he said that studies show most season ticket holders are white males 25-55 and Atlanta needs to attract more. This effort is hampered by the constant rap music at the games and all black cheerleading squad.
How the —— is that racism!??? Don’t businesses reach out to attract more black patrons? Are they racist too?
But yeah, this white southerner wouldn't go to a Hawks game on a dare.
No he did no such thing. This was no more than a marketing memo.
I live in Atlanta. Can’t even describe how much it sucks .
Ding, ding, ding. Maybe Oprah will make an offer.... He wants out.
Someone made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
From the business statistics he cites, it sounds like a crappy NBA franchise to own
“What a messed up country and world we live in. It’s like we are under a form of SHARIA LAW In the US today”
It’s called gutless political correctness.
I don’t really keep up with the sports thing much; however, this owner probably sees the tide of the economy and wants out before the collapse. Besides, this whole sports thing is getting a little silly. . .the stories about adult players and their sexual preference, thwarted personal lives of players and their families or significant others, so-called racist managers, ESPN propaganda, on and on. We have given into the gladiator mentality in the US regarding sports, no role models, poor family ethics, greed. . .think about it. . .not to mention the price of the tickets, or cost of a satellite feed, overpriced unhealthy food, and now worried about getting mugged or worse somewhere in the parking lot or in the stadium. . . .oh, and not to mention the misguided and misplaced emphasis on college and university sports . . . think about it. . .sitting there watching a group of highly uneducated players who often never graduate and a bunch of stooges cheering them on. . .I know I was one of them.. . .way back then.
I suspect he’s a nice person... and he’s conflicted by race like most of us ...
For years, the American people have believed liberals who teach that only a white can be racist because non-whites have no access to “power.” It’a all nonsense, but the sheeple still believe it.
Yes, it’s Sharia law by surrender of the American people.
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