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. Spud Webb Hawks Jersey . 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. Mike Bibby Hawks Jersey . City, fielding a depleted team having already qualified, was twice pegged back by the plucky Czech champions but substitute Negredo tapped home in the 78th minute and Dzekos header made sure of victory in the 89th. The result kept City three points behind Bayern Munich ahead of their meeting in Germany in two weeks. Alex Len Hawks Jersey . -- Once again, Carlos Santana was a huge hit in Kansas City. https://www.thehawkslockerroom.com/Pete-Maravich-City-Edition-Jersey/ . The club says Fridays surgery was successful. Holiday, a former Eastern Conference All-Star acquired from Philadelphia last summer, has not played because of the shin injury since Jan.NAPLES, Fla. -- Defending champion Bernhard Langer shot an 8-under 64 on Friday to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the ACE Group Classic. After making a slight adjustment in his putting stance, Langer birdied three of his first holes in his bogey-free round on TwinEagles Talon Course. "Basically, Im standing farther away," Langer said. "Thats really all that is. It just changes my stroke a little bit. Ive messed around with that in the past, standing closer, standing farther away, just get a better release." The 56-year-old German star won the 2011 tournament and finished second behind Kenny Perry in 2012. Langer won the season-opening event in Hawaii last month for his 19th Champions Tour title. "Were constantly trying to improve. Every golfer, you dont want to stand still because to stand still is like getting worse," Langer said. "Youre constantly trying for that little edge on somebody else or, you know, we also know if we play perfect golf we would hit 18 fairways, 18 greens and hit 18 putts. Nobodys ever done that and nobody will ever do it, but we want to get there as close as possible." Bob&nbssp;Tway was second. Ray Spalding jersey. . He birdied his last three holes, making a 60-foot putt on No. 8. "I didnt hit a very good tee shot so I was a long way back," Tway said. "Just playing into the wind, hit a long iron in there and made that long putt." Tway opened with a 65 last year, then shot 79 in the second round. "You know, its funny how if you play well it suits your game and if you dont play well it doesnt suit your game," Tway said. "I dont know else to put that." Olin Browne opened with a 66, and Duffy Waldorf and Kirk Triplett shot 67. Waldorf is coming off a playoff loss to Michael Allen on Sunday in Boca Raton in the Allianz Championship. Allen had a 68. Langer has finished in the top 10 in 37 of his last 46 events going back to 2012. What makes it more remarkable is that he missed most of 2011 with a left thumb injury. "I had many, many years in my career where I was really consistent," Langer said. "Theres a lot of competition out here. I dont even play every tournament. Theres guys that play more than I do so they have more opportunities to make more money." ' ' '