LOS ANGELES — Atlanta Hawks General Manager Danny Ferry was granted an indefinite leave of absence Friday amid calls for his dismissal over racially insensitive remarks about a free agent his team was interested in.

Hawks Chief Executive Steve Koonin said Ferry requested the time away from his duties.

Ferry said he would work to rebuild trust with the Atlanta community and Hawks fans, meeting with community leaders to further educate himself on issues involving race, diversity and inclusion.

Koonin said the team was working with a diversity consultant “to train us to ensure something like this never happens again” and would hire a chief diversity officer.

Ferry made his comments about forward Luol Deng on a conference call with team owners in June, saying Deng has “got some African in him” and later describing Deng as a “two-faced liar and cheat.”

Ferry said he was repeating comments from a scouting report, a claim that was bolstered when The Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained a document with phrasing similar to that used by the Hawks executive on the call.

This week, Koonin levied an undisclosed punishment against Ferry for his remarks. Hawks Coach Mike Budenholzer will assume Ferry’s duties in his absence.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he did not think Ferry should lose his job, but Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson tweeted that Ferry should step down.

Ferry released a statement saying “No words can adequately describe my remorse for the hurt that I have caused many people through the statements I repeated, most importantly Luol Deng.”