Hawks' owner to sell team after 'insensitive' remarks

The owner of the Atlanta Hawks announced on Sunday he would sell his controlling interest in the National Basketball Association franchise because of racially insensitive remarks he made, in an echo of a scandal involving the former owner of the Los Angeles Clippers.

Hawks owner Bruce Levenson said fans have a right to be angry about an internal e-mail he wrote two years ago about the need to boost arena attendance and how black and white fans differed in what they preferred to see at Hawks' games.

"In trying to address those issues, I wrote an e-mail two years ago that was inappropriate and offensive," Levenson said in a statement released by the team.