ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Hawks are collaborating with big-name hip-hop artists like T.I., Ludacris and Big Boi in what the team calls an effort to make amends after it was revealed two officials made racially charged remarks in separate incidents.
The artists were brought in by the NBA franchise to perform during halftime and after Hawks' home games months since former general manager Danny Ferry's insensitive comment about Sudanese-born Luol Deng came to light in September 2014. Soon after, an internal investigation revealed that former co-owner Bruce Levenson complained in a 2012 email that blacks kept potential white fans away from games. Both came on the heels of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling making racist remarks that were a public relations nightmare for the NBA.
Both have severed ties with the Hawks, who have since adopted the slogan "True to Atlanta" and apologized in an open letter to the city. T.I. was enlisted to appear in a commercial with Hawks CEO Steve Koonin to urge fans to attend the home opener, where he performed.
"We wanted to fix our relationship with the city," said Koonin, an Atlanta native who is white. "Southern hip-hop is born here. It's part of our DNA. We just believe the convergence of sports and entertainment, NBA basketball and hip-hop are a natural blend to continue to grow our business."
Many Hawks fans have granted their forgiveness. Since the 2014 home opener, the Hawks have had 39 sellouts and an average attendance of 17,246 in the regular season including playoffs, according to the team. The Hawks' home arena seats about 18,000.