Atlanta Hawks general manager Wes Wilcox has been disciplined by the organization for a racially charged joke he made at a season ticket holder event in December, according to ESPN.
Wilcox was at an event called “Chalk Talk” when the questions got a little contentious regarding the direction of the team. The general manager reportedly responded by saying he had “a black wife and three mixed kids, so I’m used to people being angry and argumentative,” according to the initial report by Deadspin.
The Hawks conducted an internal investigation that found Wilcox didn’t use those words but did make a racially charged comment that warranted a reprimand.
In 2014, Wilcox’s predecessor Danny Ferry made insensitive remarks regarding Luol Deng. Shortly after, then-controlling owner Bruce Levenson admitted to sending out a racist email to Ferry regarding the teams’ fans. He sold the team in 2015.
Since that tumultuous time, the Hawks hired Nzinga Shaw as the NBA’s first-ever diversity chief to monitor diversity and inclusion issues.
“We don’t take matters like this lightly,” Shaw told ESPN’s The Undefeated. “We have a full understanding of what took place. We as an organization will get past it and hope to regain the trust of the community. This work will not stop.”
Wilcox has been the general manager since 2015.
Thumbnail photo via Brett Davis/USA TODAY Sports Images
