Atlanta Hawks general manager Danny Ferry took an indefinite leave of absence Friday, September 12, after coming under heavy fire for making racial comments about new Miami Heat forward Luol Deng.

Hawks CEO Steve Koonin has resisted calls for Ferry to be dismissed, but said the 47-year-old GM asked for the leave.

"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," Koonin said in a statement.

Ferry issued his own statement, saying he plans to undergo sensitivity training and meet with local leaders.

"My focus moving forward is to tirelessly work to rebuild trust with this community and with our fans," Ferry said.

Ferry made an inflammatory assessment of Luol Deng during a conference call with the Hawks' ownership group in June as the team was pursuing the costless agent. The GM described Deng as someone who "has a little African in him."

"He's like a guy who would have a nice store out front and sell you counterfeit stuff out of the back," Ferry said on the recorded call.

Deng, born in South Sudan, said he was proud of his African roots, while adding he was "saddened and disappointed that this way of thinking still exists today. I am even more disturbed that it was shared so costlessly in a business setting."

There have been numerous members related to the NBA that have asked Ferry to step down, including former NBA great Magic Johnson.

An internal investigation into Ferry's comments uncovered an unrelated e-mail sent two years ago by the team's controlling owner, Bruce Levenson, who theorized that black fans were keeping suburban white fans from attending games.

Levenson said he was embarrassed by what he called an ill-advised attempt to improve the team's attendance and that he intends to sell his share of the Hawks.

The whole affair has been another embarrassment to the NBA, which only last month forced Donald Sterling into selling the Los Angeles Clippers after he was heard on secretly recorded conversations with his girlfriend asking that her not to bring African-Americans to his games. Steve Ballmer bought the Clippers for a record-breaking $2 billion.

Koonin said Ferry was disciplined for his comments, but refused to disclose the punishment. Both Ferry and Koonin have said the GM was merely repeating statements made by others in scouting reports on Deng.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who quickly issued a lifetime ban against Sterling, said he supported Levenson's decision to sell the Hawks but does not think Ferry should lose his job.

"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," Ferry said in his statement. "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."

Coach Mike Budenholzer will take over as the head of basketball operations during Ferry's absence, reporting directly to Koonin.

The Hawks, who have made the playoffs seven years in a row, have largely assembled their expected roster for this season. Ferry has been credited for his efforts to overhaul the team and build a culture modeled on reigning NBA champion San Antonio Spurs, where he worked before joining the Hawks in 2012. Two of his most lauded moves were dumping the big-money contracts of Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams.

Now, Ferry is fighting for his future with the team.

"I realize that my words may ring hollow now and my future actions must speak for me. I will maximize my time during this leave to meet with community leaders and further educate myself and others on the extremely sensitive issues surrounding race, diversity, and inclusion. I will find a way to make a positive difference in this area."

The Hawks are in turmoil right now as they still have to worry about selling the team and how this could affect the players in the locker room.

The NBA can only hope that this matter is resolved quickly, and there are no more cases such as these that'll surface in the future.