Atlanta mayor: Talked to 6 possible Hawks owners

ATLANTA – Mayor Kasim Reed said Tuesday he has already talked with six potential buyers of the Atlanta Hawks and expects a sale of the team to move quickly after racially charged comments by owner Bruce Levenson and general manager Danny Ferry.

The Hawks have been under fire since it was revealed Levenson sent an email two years ago theorizing that many suburban whites would not attend NBA games because of the team’s African-American fans. He agreed to sell his share of the team, but it also emerged that Ferry had disparaged then-free agent Luol Deng on a conference call with team owners this past summer, saying he “has a little African in him.”

Reed said whoever buys the team would have majority ownership. Levenson owns 24 percent of the team and his partner Ed Peskowitz has agreed to sell his share, meaning that 50.1 percent is available.