The Atlanta Hawks have a history of being unable to attract star players to their franchise. Dominique Wilkins was the team’s last superstar and he was, unceremoniously, traded from the team 20 years ago.
After the Hawks’ recent racist debacle, the team will have a difficult time signing key free agents in the future, Carmelo Anthony believes.
Anthony recently voiced his opinion of Hawks owner Bruce Levenson and GM Danny Ferry making racist statements. Levenson believed that the Hawks fans were “too black” and Ferry spoke about Luol Deng and basically called him a two-faced African.
“Nobody would want to play there,” Anthony said while referring to players’ unwillingness to sign with the team. “I think it was uncalled for. From an owner, from a GM, those are not things you play with. As a player, we’re looking for a job, we’re trying to find a place where we can move our family, where we can make our family comfortable. But those comments right there, we would never look at the franchise. I’m speaking on behalf of all athletes. We would never look at a situation like that.”
Levenson says he will sell his stake in the Hawks. Ferry was placed on indefinite leave, but he has yet to be fired.
All of the Hawks black players have been silent since the incident occurred.
