Hawks GM Wes Wilcox has "received an undisclosed discipline from the organization" for the "racially charged joke he made during a season-ticket holder event last month," according to Marc Spears of ESPN.com. After some "challenging questions from attendees, Deadspin reported that Wilcox responded by saying he had 'a black wife and three mixed kids, so I'm used to people being angry and argumentative.'" A Hawks internal investigation from Dec. 27 to Jan. 9 that included interviews with attendees concluded that Wilcox "didn't use the words 'angry and argumentative,' but the mention of race merited his being reprimanded internally by the franchise." Hawks Senior VP/Community and Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer Nzinga Shaw said, "After hearing multiple sides of the story and getting multiple eyewitness accounts of what took place, I am not convinced that what we heard and read in Deadspin is a direct quote that was used. Wes, however, certainly did make his off-color statement, which included elements of describing his wife's race. ... We certainly do not approve of this behavior and we are going to handle this manner internally." Shaw said that the Hawks have "no plans to fire Wilcox" (ESPN.com, 1/10).
