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ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Hawks are sticking with general manager Danny Ferry even though the teams new majority owner wants him fired for racially charged comments about Luol Deng. CEO Steve Koonin on Tuesday told the Hawks flagship radio station that he made the decision to discipline Ferry but allowed him to keep his job managing the team. He did not say what the punishment was, but noted that he relied on a law firms three-month investigation of Ferry and him describing Deng as someone who "has a little African in him." Ferry made the inflammatory comments about Deng in a conference call with the Hawks ownership group in June when the team pursued Deng as a free agent. Deng, who now plays for the Miami Heat, responded saying, "Im proud to say I actually have a lot of African in me, not just a little." A letter from co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. recommends that Ferry resign or be fired. Gearon said Ferry made that description of Deng to the teams ownership group. His June 12 letter to co-owner Bruce Levenson said Ferry went on to say, "Not in a bad way, but hes like a guy who would have a nice store out front and sell you counterfeit stuff out of the back." Added Gearon: "Ferry completed the racial slur by describing the player (and impliedly all persons of African descent) as a two-faced liar and cheat." Deng, 29, was born in what is now South Sudan. His father moved his family to Egypt and then England. The 10-year NBA veteran is now a British citizen, played for England in the 2012 Olympics and said hes proud to represent his heritage "on the highest stage." Deng, like Ferry, also played at Duke. "Every person should have the right to be treated with respect and evaluated as an individual, rather than be reduced to a stereotype," Deng said. "I am saddened and disappointed that this way of thinking still exists today. I am even more disturbed that it was shared so freely in a business setting." Koonin said Atlanta law firm Alston and Bird went through 24,000 documents, conducted 19 interviews and read "every email Danny Ferry has ever sent as general manager of the Atlanta Hawks." Koonin said no other negative information on Ferry was found in the probe. "I took their advice and far exceeded their advice," Koonin said of the undisclosed punishment he imposed on Ferry. Hawks spokesman Garin Narain said the investigation of Ferrys comments uncovered a racially inflammatory email written two years ago by Levenson. That discovery led to Levensons announcement Sunday that he will sell his controlling share of the team. Despite Gearons desire to remove Ferry, Koonin is standing by him. "I understand that emotion," Koonin said of Gearons recommendation. "I certainly understand that emotion. I know people who have said that to me. But if we sentence people based on what everybody wanted, we wouldnt have a justice system. "I listened to what (the law firm) said because they had done the work ... so thats a decision Im willing to live with." Gearon warned Levenson he believed Ferrys comments "could be fatal to the franchise" if made public. Gearon said he and the other co-owners "were appalled that anyone would make such a racist slur under any circumstance, much less the GM of an NBA franchise on a major conference call." Gearon declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press on Tuesday. Ferry apologized Tuesday but said he was only repeating what he had heard about Deng. "In regards to the insensitive remarks that were used during our due diligence process, I was repeating comments that were gathered from numerous sources during background conversations and scouting about different players," Ferry said in a statement released by the team. "I repeated those comments during a telephone conversation reviewing the draft and free agency process. Those words do not reflect my views, or words that I would use to describe an individual and I certainly regret it. I apologize to those I offended and to Luol, who I reached out to Monday morning." Koonin has agreed to meet with Atlanta civil rights leaders on Wednesday. The Rev. Markel Hutchins said Monday he asked for the meeting to discuss what he believes is a racist attitude throughout the organization. In his letter to Levenson, Gearon compared Ferrys remarks to much-publicized racist comments which forced Donald Sterling to sell the Clippers. "We believe these comments by Ferry were far worse than Sterlings because they were not from a private personal conversation -- they were in a business environment on a business matter in front of a dozen or more people," Gearon wrote. "If Ferry would make such a slur in a semi-public forum, we can only imagine what he has said in smaller groups or to individuals." Ferry was named the Hawks general manager in 2012 following two years as vice-president of basketball operations for the San Antonio Spurs. He was general manager for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2005-2010 and helped build the team that advanced to the 2007 NBA Finals. There was renewed optimism about the direction of the team after Ferry hired coach Mike Budenholzer from San Antonio in 2013. Now, the turmoil threatens to derail all their efforts. New ownership must be found and despite the support of Koonin, Ferrys ability to survive the crisis is unknown. In his letter of apology, Ferry pledged he would learn from the incident. "I am committed to learning from this and deeply regret this situation," Ferry said. "I fully understand we have work to do in order to help us create a better organization; one that our players and fans will be proud of, on and off the court, and that is where my focus is moving forward." Wholesale Nike Free Australia . Felton pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a firearm. He admitted he knowingly had a large-capacity ammunition magazine and a semi-automatic pistol without a license. Nike Free Cheap Online . Saskatchewans Darian Durant is expected to miss the rest of the Roughriders season with a torn tendon in his right elbow. The 32-year-old, who will undergo surgery in the next couple days to repair the injury, was added to the teams six-game injury list Tuesday. http://www.wholesalenikefreeaustralia.com/. - This win was more the New Jersey Devils style. Nike Free Sale Australia . Its the games against the leagues struggling franchises that have proved to be an issue. Nike Free Online Australia . The underachieving franchise finished 17th in the 19-team league with a 6-17-11 record this season. "Our soccer team is absolutely in complete disarray," said Leiweke, drawing laughs during an Empire Club luncheon speech about the future of MLSE teams and plans to improve them. SEATTLE -- Mariners rookie Roenis Elias has flashed signs of brilliance in the first two months of his major league career. A strong fastball. A big, bending curveball that can buckle hitters at the knees. Against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, Elias put the entire package together against one of the leagues strongest lineups. The 25-year-old left-hander from Cuba kept Detroit off balance in throwing a three-hitter, pitching Seattle to a 4-0 win. Elias (4-4) struck out eight and walked one in his 12th major league start, and the first one to last longer than seven innings. Elias is the first Mariners rookie to record a shutout since Freddy Garcia on Aug. 24, 1999, against the Tigers. "He had all his secondary stuff," manager Lloyd McClendon said. "I thought his changeup was exceptional. He kept the fastball down for the most part. Pitched in and out. The curveball was good as well but I thought the changeup was the equalizer today." Heading to the mound for the ninth inning, Elias had to face the heart of Detroits lineup in Ian Kinsler, Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez. All three hitters are hitting over .300 and were facing Elias for the fourth time in the game, but he made quick work of the trio to close out the victory. "I didnt think there was much that would affect this guy as far as nerves were concerned given his situation and where he came from," McClendon said. "He didnt disappoint. He just went out and did his job. Elias recorded five of his eight strikeouts with the curveball. "When he keeps (the curveball) in the zone and guys have to respect it as a strike and then he can use it as a put-away pitch, thats when its really working well for him," catcher Mike Zunino said. The Tigers only moved one runner in scoring position, and Elias matched a career high with 111 pitches. "I was told that to have success (in the majors) you have to have command of three pitches," Elias said through a translator. "The curveball, the changeup and the fastball were all working today..dddddddddddd." Elias threw the first complete game shutout for Seattle since Aaron Harang on June 11, 2013, in a 4-0 win over the Houston Astros. Elias said it was only his second career complete game, the other coming in Single-A. The Tigers were shut out for the third time this season and second time on their current road trip. The Tigers have lost 10 of their last 14 games. "He had a good curveball with a good down angle. Its tough to square up on," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "It was just one of those days where we made quick, easy outs and didnt really put up much of a fight. Max Scherzer (6-2) gave up four runs and nine hits in 6 2-3 innings. In his last three outings, he has allowed 16 earned runs with a 7.32 ERA. His ERA for the year has climbed to 3.20. "They did a good job hitting some pitches that were up and capitalized on some off-speed mistakes that sailed up in the zone," Scherzer said. Endy Chavez hit a leadoff double in the Seattle first and Michael Saunders doubled for a 1-0 lead. Willie Bloomquist and Chavez each singled in the third, putting runners at the corners with no outs. James Jones flied out, Saunders struck out and Bloomquist was thrown out at home plate on a double steal attempt. In the fifth, Dustin Ackley led off with a single and swiped second base. Bloomquist hit an RBI double and James singled home a run. Brad Miller homered off Scherzer in the seventh. NOTES: Seattle 2B Robinson Cano was out of the lineup for a fourth straight game. He is day to day while dealing with a bone bruise on his left hand. ... Jones was removed from the game for precautionary reasons in the eighth with tightness in his left groin. He was replaced defensively by Cole Gillespie. ... Detroit C Bryan Holaday has thrown out just two of 10 runners who have tried to steal against him. Ackley and Jones both stole bases in the fifth inning for Seattle. ... Seattle SS Miller homered for the first time since April 11 against Oakland, his fourth on the year. ' ' '