Atlanta Hawks: Owner agrees to sell stake after racist comments; 'If you're angry about what I wrote, you should be'

Atlanta Hawks owner Bruce Levenson has decided to sell his controlling stake in the team due to previous racist comments he made.

Levenson released a statement about the issue:

"Over the past several years, I've spent a lot of time grappling with low attendance at our games and the need for the Hawks to attract more season ticket holders and corporate sponsors. Over that time, I've talked with team executives about the need for the Hawks to build a more diverse fan base that includes more suburban whites, and I shared my thoughts on why our efforts to bridge Atlanta's racial sports divide seemed to be failing.

In trying to address those issues, I wrote an e-mail two years ago that was inappropriate and offensive. 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). By focusing on race, I also sent the unintentional and hurtful message that our white fans are more valuable than our black fans.

If you're angry about what I wrote, you should be. 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.

According to the Atlanta Journal Consitution, the events that led to Levenson's decision and his statement began in a meeting about a particular free agent target.

While discussing the target's background, (who was reportedly Miami Heat forward Loul Deng) Hawks general manager Danny Ferry read a background report. As he read the report, he did not censor the content which contained racially insensitive statements. This prompted the other owners to launch an investigation into the situation.

The investigation uncovered the email by Levenson.

In the email he was discussing marketing strategies that could appeal to white season ticket holders.

Per ESPN, Levenson wrote in the email:

"I think southern whites simply were not comfortable being in an arena or at a bar where they were in the minority"

"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 [tickets] demo. I have also balked when every fan picked out of crowd to shoot shots in some timeout contest is black. I have even [complained] that the kiss cam is too black."

According to the AJC, Levenson informed the NBA and commissioner Adam Silver of the email in July. Silver released this statement per the newspapers:

"Following Bruce Levenson notifying the league office this July of his August 2012 email, the NBA commenced an independent investigation regarding the circumstances of Mr. Levenson's comments," Silver said in his statement.

"Prior to the completion of the investigation, Mr. Levenson notified me last evening that he had decided to sell his controlling interest in the Atlanta Hawks. 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. 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."