The Atlanta Hawks have been surrounded by turmoil recently. They recently dealt sharpshooter Kyle Korver to the Cleveland Cavaliers and there have been multiple other trade rumors swirling around players such as Thabo Sefolosha and Paul Millsap. Not only has there been rumblings about the roster, but the front office also faced some heat last month after General Manager Wes Wilcox made a racial joke. While it was first expected that there would be no consequences for Wilcox’s statement, it has been reported by ESPN’s Marc Spears that the GM will face discipline from the Hawks organization:
Atlanta Hawks general manager Wes Wilcox has received an undisclosed discipline from the organization for a racially charged joke he made during a season-ticket holder event last month, a team executive told ESPN’s The Undefeated.
Wilcox was under major scrutiny after it was reported by Patrick Redford of Deadspin that he responded to a statement by a season ticket holder with a racially charged remark prior to a December 7th game against the Miami Heat:
Season ticket holder Clarenton Crawford, by his account, made his displeasure with coach Mike Budenholzer known… According to Crawford and another source who was present, Wilcox, who is white, tried to diffuse the tension with a joke:
“I know you guys may be angry with me, but I’m used to it because I have a black wife and three mixed kids, so I’m used to people being angry and argumentative.”
(In a statement released to Deadspin, Wilcox said, “At an early December chalk talk, I made a self-deprecating comment at my own expense regarding my family, which is multi-racial. This joke offended Mr. Crawford and his wife and for that, I apologize.”)
Though Wilcox did apologize to the season ticket holder, his actions still resulted in the Hawks front office launching an internal investigation. After the latest report, it’s a relief that the Hawks organization has in fact decided to discipline Wilcox for his comments.
The Hawks are a team that has had this type of racial issue before as ex-General Manager Danny Ferry also made degrading remarks about forward Luol Deng in 2014. Knowing their recent history, planning to discipline Wilcox for his racist dialogue is a just and deserving move.
