Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is known for bold statements. But if he was trying to throw his owner-buddy Donald Sterling a life support vest, then he went about it in a highly questionable manner. According to The Tennessean, at a Wednesday conference in Nashville on the topic of the banned Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, Cuban admitted the truth. "I know I'm prejudiced, and I know I'm bigoted in a lot of different ways. If I see a black kid in a hoodie on my side of the street, I'll move to the other side of the street" he said, during an interview shown at the annual GrowCo convention hosted by Inc. magazine. "If I see a white guy with a shaved head and tattoos (on the side he now is on), I'll move back to the other side of the street. None of us have pure thoughts; we all live in glass houses."
In light of the Trayvon Martin tragedy – which we are not that far removed from – it baffles me that Cuban would make these types of inflammatory statements filled with an insensitive reference to a "black kid" and a "hoodie." It’s comments like these, and the brainwashing of young black males instilled at a very young age with the idea that they are less than, that limits the opportunities talented young "black kids" are awarded. Some people just don’t get it. Money makes some people feel that they can disparage, degrade and misrepresent whomever they like. Accuracy is not a concern.
Unlike Sterling, Cuban is not a known racist and he didn’t limit his admitted prejudice to blacks. He tossed in skinheads or any white boy with tats and a shaved head as well. If you are a cancer patient and going through chemo with no hair and rocking too many tats, Mark Cuban will be deathly afraid of you and assume you’ re trying to steal some of his billions. But it's hard to imagine a dude that spent $41 million online for a G5 airplane being afraid of anything.
When asked about voting on Sterling's ouster, which he will have to do June 3, Cuban said he knows how he will vote, but isn't ready to comment on it.
Cuban, who has frequently been fined by the league for public criticism of officials, previously called a vote that would force Sterling out of the league a "slippery slope." Apparently he wasn’t ready to help strip a fellow owner of his totalitarian powers. And now it all makes sense, especially if Cuban uses such language freely in the confines of his home. It’s a can of worms most owners probably don’t want to open, but as Cuban added on Wednesday, he hates to be a hypocrite. But may have to be in voting…against Sterling.
He then was asked about keeping bigotry out of the NBA.
"You don't; there's no law against stupid," Cuban said. "I'm the one guy who says don't force the stupid people to be quiet. I want to know who the morons are."
Cuban’s always looking for a camera. His narcissism is well-documented and has been on display since he assumed ownership of the Dallas Mavericks in 2000.
I just question his timing in this matter. Most media reports are saying that Cuban's point is that we all have preconceived notions of various things. He is not advocating for racism but rather suggesting that we all have flaws. Maybe. But it’s another blanket statement about a group of people that is not only ridiculous, but racist and bigoted as hell. It’s a bad look for The League.
The fact that he chose that platform to defend Sterling’s idiocy in any way is even more disturbing to me. Sterling is 81-years old and considered part of the “old regime.” Cuban’s considered a progressive, forward-thinking product of the tech age. I guarantee you that most people had no idea he felt this way. And it really makes me think he had an ulterior motive with these comments. As owner of the Dallas Mavs, Landmark Theatres, Magnolia Pictures, and the chairman of the HDTV cable network AXS TV as well. And as a "shark" investor on the hit TV reality series Shark Tank, Cuban has incredible power and control over hiring people.
Again, if these are the attitudes and prejudices that the "1 percent" share, it’s no wonder that the "99 percent" in this society stay disenfranchised and disadvantaged.
Something tells me that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is willing to let Cuban’s comments fade to black, if the media does the same. I think a phone call is in order to let Cuban know that he's causing unnecessary drama and making the new commish – who has been lauded like Spartacus of late – look like a jerky boy right now.
A few weeks ago Silver stood on a podium and ensured the world that the NBA wouldn't tolerate this kind of oppressive ideology. And now there’s Cuban, letting black kids and tatted white kids with low cuts who dress like he does when courtside at a Mavs game (hoodie, jeans and all) – know that he's not messing with them. Unless, of course, they’ve got a killer crossover.
The NBA has been through a lot this past month, reportedly barely escaping an all-out player revolt in the middle of its prime money-making period and expending so much of its time and marketing energy on addressing the insane ramblings of a jealous fossil.
Race in general is a slippery slope in this country. When someone is honest about their feelings on the subject, people go nuts. Cuban is smart enough to know this. So what gives? Knocking black folk and anyone who doesn’t represent privileged white America seems to be the move for these billionaire NBA Owners. Cuban said he wants to know who the morons are. Just look in the mirror and play back your comments, homie.
