Shareef Abdur-Rahim has perspective on the Hawks situation. (USATSI)
Shareef Abdur-Rahim has perspective on the Hawks situation. (USATSI)

Former Atlanta Hawks forward and current Sacramento Kings director of player personnel Shareef Abdur-Rahim wrote an open letter for Yahoo Sports about what's going on in Atlanta. An excerpt, in which he borrows Luol Deng's line about having "a lot of African" in him:

As an Atlanta native, former Atlanta Hawk and African-American, remaining voiceless on the recent statements distributed by Atlanta Hawks management discounts the sacrifices so many have made to provide a voice for injustice. As a child growing up in Atlanta and before hip-hop music was played at the arena or even accepted by the masses in America, the Hawks had an attendance problem. I recall countless games blacked out in the 1980s and early 90s due to low attendance in the arena. Neither African-American cheerleaders nor the African-American community were the cause of low attendance back then and they are not the cause now.

As a former NBA player and now NBA executive, the game created an opportunity for guys like myself and Luol Deng to provide for our families and give back to our communities. It also allowed me to build businesses, stimulate Atlanta's economy and be part of the rich historical legacy of successful entrepreneurs in Atlanta. The notion that Africans are "two-faced liars and cheats" is offensive. I am proud I have a lot of African in me and know such traits do not carry negative attributes.

Abdur-Rahim added that he's had "pleasant" interactions with Hawks owner Bruce Levenson and general manager Danny Ferry, but that the two of them had to earn back trust of the city because of their disrespectful, insensitive comments. 

The Hawks announced on Friday that Ferry had requested to take an indefinite leave of absence and it was granted. This was after audio had surfaced of Ferry talking about Deng on the infamous call. Text of the background report he was referring to also was released.