ATLANTA — Under fire for making racially charged comments about a player, Atlanta Hawks general manager Danny Ferry took an indefinite leave of absence Friday. Hawks CEO Steve Koonin has resisted calls for Ferry to be dismissed, but said the GM asked for the leave. "This has been an incredibly difficult time for him and his family and it is my hope that this time away from the Hawks organization allows him the privacy he needs to listen to the community, to learn about his mistakes, and to begin the long process of personal healing," Koonin said.