Historically, the NBA has always played the national anthem before each game, but these days, Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, has called for Americans to practice different pastimes in reflection of the country’s history.
For starters, it is important to clarify that that for 13 preseason and regular season games, the team had not played the national anthem before games and no one, since the stands have been empty due to the pandemic, had noticed. At the request of NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver, however, after someone did notice, Cuban complied to the NBA’s directive that the anthem be played pregame at every game. “There was never any final decision that was made that we would not play the anthem,” Cuban said in an interview with ESPN‘s Rachel Nichols.
Also in this interview, Cuban claims not to be in the business of canceling the national anthem, but to instead be an avid listener of the communities he is attempting to show his support for. In a statement released last Wednesday, Cuban clarified that he and his team “respect and always have respected the passion people have for the anthem… But [they] also loudly hear the voices of those who feel that the anthem does not represent them. [Cuban and his team] feel that their voices need to be respected and heard, because they have not been.” Cuban continues by saying that he hopes that “people take the same passion they have for this issue and apply the same amount of energy to listen[ing] to those who feel differently from them.”
In 21 seasons, Cuban has become known for his support of his athletes first. Having been spotted in May at a vigil for George Floyd, Cuban has continued to earn high praise from his players. “Heās someone who has your back no matter what the situation is,” said Maverick guard Jalen Brunson in an interview with The Dallas Morning News. āFor him to have his voice and use it the way he does just shows you the type of person he is,ā Brunson continued.
On the other hand, pushback from Cuban’s stance has been discussed around the country. During the White House’s daily briefing on Wednesday, press secretary Jen Psaki, in acknowledging that she had not specifically spoken to President Biden about the topic, conveyed to reporters that she knew that the president is obviously extremely proud to be an American, but that he would most likely also recognize that being proud of the nation also entails being honest about where the country has fallen short.
Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick from Texas, however, was much less forgiving as he encouraged Cuban via Twitter to sell his share of the Mavericks to someone from Texas. In a statement released last week, Patrick stated that “sports are one thing that bring us together — right, left, black, white and brown.”
Nonetheless, Cuban remains set in continuing to have these types of conversations and has since expressed gratitude in being able to have them “out of choice, not because of some tragedy that ignited the conversation.” In another interview on ESPN,Ā Cuban again expressed his support for his players. “If they were taking a knee and they were being respectful, I’d be proud of them. Hopefully, I’d join them,” Cuban said.
