Atlanta Hawks general manager Danny Ferry made the decision to file for an indefinite leave of absence after the issue of his racially charged comment against Luol Deng emerged to the public.

Ferry has been backed up by Hawks CEO Steve Koonin as the latter supported him during his time of tribulation, not getting persuaded by other members of the committee requesting to fire Ferry.

According to Koonin, it was Ferry's personal decision to take a leave saying "My hope that this time away from the Hawks organization allows him the privacy he needs to listen to the community, to learn about his mistakes, and to begin the long process of personal healing."

Since the incident broke out, Ferry has already release a statement of apology regarding his actions. It states "No words can adequately describe my remorse for the hurt that I have caused many people through the statements I repeated, most importantly Luol Deng. Luol is a good man who I have known for many years and he has done a tremendous amount of good for his country and around the world. I apologize to Luol and I apologize to all that I have offended. As I have said, while these were not my words, I deeply regret repeating them. Almost all the background information I provided during the lengthy presentation regarding Luol was positive and my personal and professional recommendation during the call was very much in favor of adding Luol to our team but I never should have uttered those offensive remarks and for that I apologize."

Now that Ferry has decided to take a leave, it does not necessarily mean that he has plans on stepping down from his position. According to the statement that he released "My focus moving forward is to tirelessly work to rebuild trust with this community and with our fans."

Ferry has been lauded for his efforts in revamping the Hawks. In his leadership, the Hawks was able to make it to the playoffs for seven consecutive years. He has also been credited for building a culture which is modeled on the current NBA Champions, San Antonio Spurs.