Atlanta Hawks CEO Steve Koonin issues statement on Bruce Levenson

Sunday morning brought the revelation of a racially charged email from Atlanta Hawks owner Bruce Levenson, and as such, the league has announced that he will be selling his ownership stake. In response to the scandal surrounding Levenson, Atlanta Hawks CEO Steve Koonin is the “face” of the organization, and he issued a statement concerning the next step for the franchise.

"To the City of Atlanta and Hawks Fans,Today’s statement from Controlling Owner Bruce Levenson is extremely disappointing and the email that he sent over two years ago was alarming, offensive and most of all, completely unacceptable and does not reflect the principles and values of the Hawks organization. In partnership with the NBA, we will work to ensure that a new ownership team will be put in place that is united and committed to the Atlanta community.Steve KooninCEO, Atlanta Hawks"

It is interesting to see that Koonin’s comments (namely “a new ownership team” seem to indicate that an entirely new group could be in the offing, shedding some light on the other members of the ownership group potentially being on their way out as well. Stay tuned for the latest, but Steve Koonin appears to be the man in charge for now, and we could see a wholesale shake-up.