Deng on Hawks hiring diversity officer: 'If this is a positive step, I'm happy'

The unfortunate reality for Luol Deng is that he's the unwilling face of a controversy that really had little to do with him.

The Atlanta Hawks hired a diversity officer earlier this week, one of their reactive moves to the offseason scandal that saw general manger Danny Ferry take an indefinite leave and owner Bruce Levenson put his controlling share of the team up for sale. 

The controversy stemmed from Ferry reading racially insensitive remarks about Deng on a conference call.

It appears that Deng, who ultimately signed with the Miami Heat this offseason, doesn't want to talk about the issue any longer. Still, he was kind enough to oblige when asked about the Hawks' new hire on Friday:

Honestly, I didn't know. The Hawks can do whatever they've got to do. To me, what happened, happened, and it's done with. I think my goal from it was that something positive would happen. So if this is a positive step, I'm happy.

I don't know what's going on within the Hawks organization. But if people are going to benefit from what was said and what happened, then that was the right step.

Deng has been a class act throughout the entire ordeal, responding respectfully and thoughtfully and pushing those around the league to use the situation as a learning experience.