Bruce Levenson to sell NBA team Atlanta Hawks after racially-charged email emerges of his complaints about too many black cheerleaders and white fans 'scared away'

Bruce Levenson wrote racially-charged email two years ago
Atlanta Hawks owner voluntarily reports himself to the NBA
Claimed the email was 'to bridge Atlanta's racial sports divide'
But Levenson blamed poor black fans for keeping white fans away
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he supported Levenson walking away

The NBA has been left reeling after a second racism scandal this year left another team searching for a new owner.

Less than one month after the Los Angeles Clippers' sale ended Donald Sterling's ugly downfall, Atlanta Hawks co-owner Bruce Levenson is selling his controlling interest in the team, thanks in part to an inflammatory email he wrote two years ago.

In the 2012 email Levenson wrote that the Hawks' black fans kept white fans away and that he wanted hip-hop music to be replaced with music 'familiar to a 40-year-old white guy'.

Selling up: Bruce Levenson is selling his controlling stake in the Atlanta Hawks after a racist email emerged

Time for change: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league will work with the Hawks' to find a buyer

Levenson said he regrets the email sent to the team's co-owners, written in an attempt 'to bridge Atlanta's racial sports divide.' General manager Danny Ferry in 2012 as 'inappropriate and offensive.'

In a statement released by the team, Levenson said he sent the email due to his concerns about low attendance and a need to attract suburban whites.

He says he later realised the email made it seem white fans were more important. He voluntarily reported the email to the NBA.

'I have said repeatedly that the NBA should have zero tolerance for racism, and I strongly believe that to be true,' Levenson said in the statement. 'That is why I voluntarily reported my inappropriate email to the NBA.

'After much long and difficult contemplation, I have decided that it is in the best interests of the team, the Atlanta community, and the NBA to sell my controlling interest in the Hawks franchise.'

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said on Sunday that the league will work with the Hawks' ownership group and CEO Steve Koonin, who now will oversee all team operations.

Courtside: Levenson (left) talks with actors Vince Vaughn (centre) and Ben Stiller during an NBA game

Silver said the league's independent investigation 'regarding the circumstances of Mr. Levenson's comments' in the email was ongoing when he was told on Saturday night of Levenson's plan to sell his share of the team.

Pictured in 2012: Levenson said he regrets the email sent to the team's co-owners and general manager Danny Ferry in 2012 as 'inappropriate and offensive.'

Silver said he supported Levenson's decision.

'As Mr Levenson acknowledged, the views he expressed are entirely unacceptable and are in stark contrast to the core principles of the National Basketball Association,' Silver said. '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.

'I commend Mr Levenson for self-reporting to the league office, for being fully cooperative with the league and its independent investigator, and for putting the best interests of the Hawks, the Atlanta community, and the NBA first.'

Sterling was forced to sell the Los Angeles Clippers after a recording surfaced in April of the owner scolding his girlfriend for bringing black men to Clippers games. Steve Ballmer officially became the team's new owner on August 12.

In the email sent in August 2012, Levenson said 'southern whites' were uncomfortable at games.

'My theory is that the black crowd scared away the whites and there are simply not enough affluent black fans to build a significant season ticket base,' Levenson said in the email released Sunday by the Hawks.

'Please don't get me wrong. There was nothing threatening going on in the arena back then. I never felt uncomfortable, but I think southern whites simply were not comfortable being in an arena or at a bar where they were in the minority.'

Levenson said Hawks crowds were 70 per cent black, the team's cheerleaders were black and hip-hop music was played.

VIDEO Scroll down to see Hawks cheerleader fall during dance routine

More problems: Sterling sold his stake in the Clippers after a race scandal earlier this year

'Then I start looking around at other arenas,' Levenson said. 'It is completely different.'

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Atlanta's population was 54 per cent black and 38.4-per cent white in 2010. For metro Atlanta, the ratio is 55.4 per cent white and 32.4 per cent black.

Levenson said he often heard fans say the area around Philips Arena in downtown Atlanta is dangerous.

'This was just racist garbage,' Levenson said. 'When I hear some people saying the arena is in the wrong place I think it is code for there are too many blacks at the games.'

Though he said he disagreed with the conclusion, he said he told team executives to add white cheerleaders and music 'familiar to a 40-year-old white guy.'

Added Levenson in the email: 'I have even (complained) that the kiss cam is too black.'

Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed said the comments in Levenson's email were 'reprehensible and offensive.'

'The statements do not represent the city of Atlanta's history of diversity and inclusion, and we will be clear and deliberate in denouncing and repudiating them,' Reed said. 'I applaud the NBA's efforts to enforce a no-tolerance policy of discrimination. As a city, we will continue to stand behind the Atlanta Hawks organization as they work to find new ownership that reflects the values and ideals of a city that is too busy to hate.'

Recordings: Sterling was heard scolding his girlfriend for bringing black men to Clippers games

The Rev. Al Sharpton released a statement encouraging Silver 'to continue vetting all owners.'

'The announcement by Bruce Levenson is welcomed and appropriate by those of us in the civil rights community, that raised the issue of Donald Sterling's need to be removed, and that other owners must be held accountable,' Sharpton said.

Though the NBA investigation of the email was ongoing, Levenson apparently concluded he couldn't continue in his ownership role.

'If you're angry about what I wrote, you should be,' Levenson said in Sunday's statement. 'I'm angry at myself, too. It was inflammatory nonsense. We all may have subtle biases and preconceptions when it comes to race, but my role as a leader is to challenge them, not to validate or accommodate those who might hold them.'

This is not Levenson's first effort to sell the team. In 2011, the Hawks' ownership group, headed by Levenson and Michael Gearon Jr., made an unsuccessful attempt to sell to California developer and pizza chain owner Alex Meruelo.

The group acquired the Hawks and the NHL Thrashers from Time Warner in 2004. The Thrashers were sold and moved to Winnipeg in 2011.

'I WANT WHITE CHEERLEADERS AND THE KISS CAM IS TOO BLACK': LEVENSON'S EMAIL IN FULL

From: Bruce Levenson

To: Ferry, Danny

CC: Foreman, Todd (ucg.com); Peskowitz, Ed (ucg.com)

Sent: 8/25/2012 11:47:02 PM

Subject: Re: Business/Game ops

1. from day one i have been impressed with the friendliness and professionalism of the arena staff — food vendors, ushers, ticket takers, etc. in our early years when i would bring folks from dc they were blown away by the contrast between abe pollin's arena and philips. some of this is attributable to southern hospital and manners but bob and his staff do a good job of training. To this day, I can not get the ushers to call me Bruce yet they insist on me calling them by their first names.

2. the non-premium area food is better than most arenas, though that is not saying much. i think there is room for improvement and creativity. Levy is our food vendor so we don't have much control but they have been good partners. i have wished we had some inconic offereing like boog's barbeque at the baseball stadium in balt.

3. our new restaurant, red, just opened so too early for me to give you my thoughts.

4. Regarding game ops, i need to start with some background. for the first couple of years we owned the team, i didn't much focus on game ops. then one day a light bulb went off. when digging into why our season ticket base is so small, i was told it is because we can't get 35-55 white males and corporations to buy season tixs and they are the primary demo for season tickets around the league. when i pushed further, folks generally shrugged their shoulders. then i start looking around our arena during games and notice the following:

— it's 70 pct black

— the cheerleaders are black

— the music is hip hop

— at the bars it's 90 pct black

— there are few fathers and sons at the games

— we are doing after game concerts to attract more fans and the concerts are either hip hop or gospel.

Then i start looking around at other arenas. It is completely different. Even DC with its affluent black community never has more than 15 pct black audience.

Before we bought the hawks and for those couple years immediately after in an effort to make the arena look full (at the nba's urging) thousands and thousands of tickets were being giving away, predominantly in the black community, adding to the overwhelming black audience.

My theory is that the black crowd scared away the whites and there are simply not enough affluent black fans to build a signficant season ticket base. Please dont get me wrong. There was nothing threatening going on in the arean back then. i never felt uncomfortable, but i think southern whites simply were not comfortable being in an arena or at a bar where they were in the minority. On fan sites i would read comments about how dangerous it is around philips yet in our 9 years, i don't know of a mugging or even a pick pocket incident. This was just racist garbage. When I hear some people saying the arena is in the wrong place I think it is code for there are too many blacks at the games.

I have been open with our executive team about these concerns. I have told them I want some white cheerleaders and while i don't care what the color of the artist is, i want the music to be music familiar to a 40 year old white guy if that's our season tixs demo. i have also balked when every fan picked out of crowd to shoot shots in some time out contest is black. I have even bitched that the kiss cam is too black.

Gradually things have changed. My unscientific guess is that our crowd is 40 pct black now, still four to five times all other teams. And my further guess is that 40 pct still feels like 70 pet to some whites at our games. Our bars are still overwhelmingly black.

This is obviously a sensitive topic, but sadly i think it is far and way the number one reason our season ticket base is so low.

And many of our black fans don't have the spendable income which explains why our f&b and merchandise sales are so low. At all white thrasher games sales were nearly triple what they are at hawks games (the extra intermission explains some of that but not all).

Regardless of what time a game starts, we have the latest arriving crowd in the league. It often looks and sounds empty when the team takes the floor.

In the past two years, we have created a section of rowdy college students that has been a big plus. And we do a lot of very clever stuff during time outs to entertain the crowd. Our kiss cam is better done than any in the league.

We have all the same halftime acts that other arenas have but i question whether they make sense. people are on their cell phones during half time. i wonder if flashing on the scoreboard "$2 off on hot dogs during halftime tonight" just as the half ends would be a better use of our halftime dollars and make the fans happier.

We do all the usual giveways and the fans are usually their loudest when our spirit crew takes the floor to give away t-shirts. It pisses me off that they will yell louder for a t-shirt then for our players.

Our player intro is flat. We manufacture a lot of noise but because of the late arriving crowd and the fact that a lot of blacks dont seem to go as crazy cheering (another one of my theories) as whites, it is not great. Even when we have just returned from winnng four straight on the road, i am one of the few people in the arena standing and cheering when our team takes the floor. Bob has kicked around ideas like having the starters coming down aisles rather than off the bench during intros. Sounds cool but may highlight all the empty seats at the start of games.

Not enough of our fans wear hawks jerseys to games. i have just begun to push for ideas like discount food lines for folks wearing jerseys, special entrances, etc. I think we need a committed and perhaps incentivized fan club. We need to realize atl is simply different than every other city. Just adopting nba best practices is not enough. we have to create our own.

I am rambling and could probably go on forever. If you have any specific areas you would like my thoughts on, let me know.

Best,

Bruce

ps — I have cc'd todd and ed so they can chime in with additional or different thoughts.

Sent from my iPad