ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Hawks cancelled a scheduled meeting between their CEO and city civil rights leaders Wednesday, prompting one of the groups leaders to say his community was greatly offended. The Rev. Markel Hutchins said the meeting with CEO Steve Koonin was called off at the last minute. He later said he received a call from Hawks spokesman Garin Narain on Tuesday night asking the appointment be postponed. Hutchins said he needed to hear that request from Koonin, and because Koonin didnt personally cancel the meeting, the group of 12 civil rights leaders showed up as planned. When they entered Philips Arena and were told there would be no meeting, Hutchins and the other leaders said they were insulted. The entire civil rights community, locally and nationally, have been offended, the likes of which we have not seen in this community in decades, Hutchins said. The group asked for the meeting to discuss what Hutchins said was the Hawks disrespect for people of colour. The request followed racially charged comments by Hawks co-owner Bruce Levenson and general manager Danny Ferry. In a statement Wednesday, the Hawks asked for patience from the community and said they want to reschedule the meeting. Koonin postponed todays meeting last night, the Hawks statement said. This conversation is a priority for us. We are committed to having this meeting and will work with community leaders to reschedule as soon as possible. We ask our community to work with us, be patient with us, and help us heal. The Hawks did not say why the meeting was cancelled. Levenson said Sunday he will sell his majority share of the team. Koonin said Tuesday Ferry has been punished but wont be fired. Hutchins said when he arranged the meeting with Koonin on Monday night, he made it clear the group wanted Ferry to lose his job. Perhaps one of the reasons why they cancelled the meeting is we made it very clear we were going to demand in our conversations that Danny Ferry be fired or resign, Hutchins said. There is no way that a man who uses the kind of language and holds the kind of sentiments that he does should be the general manager of the basketball team in the home of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the cradle of the civil rights movement. Others also have called for Ferry to be fired. Former NBA great Magic Johnson said late Tuesday on his Twitter feed Atlanta Hawks GM Danny Ferry should step down after making racist statements about NBA player Luol Deng. Deng and Ferry are former Duke players under Mike Krzyzewski, who is coaching the U.S. team at the World Cup. Krzyzewski said he couldnt comment on the controversy involving his former players because he hasnt followed the news. Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, serving as an assistant on the U.S. team, defended Deng on Wednesday. Ive never been around a better person, Thibodeau said. Hes not only a great basketball player, hes an even better person. Ill stand by Luol any day. Hes good. Hes done a lot of great things in the community. Hes a great human being. Hes a very humble guy. He has a lot of integrity. I cant say enough good things about him. ... It was a privilege for me to be his coach. Thibodeau said he cant imagine why Ferry made the statements. Ferry made inflammatory comments about Deng in a conference call with the Hawks ownership group in June when the team pursued Deng as a free agent. Ferry described Deng as someone who has a little African in him. Deng, who was born in what is now South Sudan, now plays for the Miami Heat. He responded to Ferrys comment on Tuesday by 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. to Levenson recommended that Ferry resign or be fired. Gearon said Ferry made that description of Deng to the teams ownership group. Gearons June 12 letter to 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. Cheap Paul Molitor Jersey . Wearing bib No. 1, Maze skied through the gates cleanly to defend her big first-run lead and finish 0.07 seconds ahead of Anna Fenninger of Austria. Defending champion Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany was third, trailing 0. Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic . Howard had 17 points and a career-high-tying 26 rebounds in his Houston debut, James Harden added 21 points and the Rockets cruised to a 96-83 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night. http://www.cheapbluejaysjerseys.com/ . Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, Fiorentina levelled on aggregate in the 14th minute when Joaquin Sanchez Rodriguez headed back a long ball from David Pizarro and Pasqual smashed home an angled volley. Cheap Blue Jays Jerseys Authentic . Nwaneri, who was born in Dallas and attended Naaman Forest High School in nearby Garland, Texas, tweeted, "Its official! Im coming home, Im coming home. Cheap Roy Halladay Jersey . -- All-Pro tight end Jimmy Graham and the New Orleans Saints met Tuesday for arbitration on his contract.MILWAUKEE -- Bucks owner Herb Kohl wants to add to the teams ownership group in hopes of building a new arena that he said would cement the teams long-term future in Milwaukee. Kohl said Monday he hired a firm to help in the search for new partners, and that any new partners who are added will have to be equally committed to keeping the team in Milwaukee. "I like to believe that bringing in new ownership ... if its done in the right way, will reinvigorate the franchise and make our future in Milwaukee stronger and more secure," he said. Keeping the team in Wisconsins largest city would require a new arena to replace the 25-year-old BMO Harris Bradley Center, also home to Marquette basketball and the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL, he said. "Without new investors and without a new facility, would we at some point lose the Bucks? Yes," he said. Kohl, who recently retired after four terms as a U.S. senator, bought the Bucks in 1985. The team is frequently mentioned as a candidate for a move because of the age of its arena, but Commissioner David Stern said Kohls decision shows he is dedicated to preventing that. "With this announcement, Sen. Kohl continues his mission: to assure continuity of Bucks ownership by broadening its ownership base, and assuring that the fans of Wisconsin will enjoy NBA basketball and other events in a new state-of-the-art facility," Stern said. Kohl and Stern both said Kohl bought the team with the goal of keeping it in Milwaukee, and that remains a priority now. Kohl said he hadnt identified possible partners yet, and that the process was only in its infancy. When asked whether hed consider taking on a partner who demanded a majority stake, Kohl said it was too early to commit to specifics. Kohl, 78, said hes in good health, but he knew he needed to plan for the organizations long-term future.dddddddddddd He also said he was willing to contribute some of his own wealth toward the cost of a new stadium, and he hoped to secure private funding as well. If that happens, the team would have a firm private-sector commitment that could provide a convincing case for the public to finance the rest, he said. Kohl noted that Miller Park, where the Milwaukee Brewers play, is a fine facility but one that serves as little more than a baseball-only venue. And Lambeau Field, home to the Green Bay Packers, is also a one-use facility. But the BMO Harris Bradley Center hosts 200 events per year, including concerts and family events, so a new stadium would benefit the entire community, not only the Bucks, he said. Reporters asked whether potential partners would even want to invest in a team that couldnt consider a new area outside of Milwaukee, or in a team thats struggled to be competitive in recent seasons. Kohl replied that his team is profitable and its value has risen along with the values of every other NBA team. He declined to say exactly how much his team is worth. At 5-19, the Bucks are the worst team in the NBA. But Kohl said theyre a part of the community -- a part of his community -- and he wouldnt let them leave, even though he knew the franchise could be worth far more in a larger city. "It would be a big loss for this community if we lost our NBA franchise," he said. "That would be a huge step backward, for not only Milwaukee but the surrounding communities. "I dont want to see that happen. And so this asset is not for sale outside of Milwaukee." ------ AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney in New York contributed to this report. ' ' '