Mark Cuban, the outspoken and often controversial owner of the Dallas Mavericks, spoke last Wednesday at a business conference. After the Donald Sterling/LA Clippers scandal, most NBA owners are likely measuring everything they say with careful consideration. Not Mark Cuban. He has regularly made statements that push the line of what is appropriate. And maybe that's precisely the larger point he is trying to make with these outbursts he is prone to have. He said some things that are true. But is he right?
After saying things like 'everyone is a bigot' and that he would cross the street if he saw a black kid in a hoodie walking toward him, etc. a surprising amount of people commended his statements. What's alarming is that while he laces his speech with hard truths he seems to do so primarily to make excuses for rich white men to continue their abhorrent behaviors unchecked.
CNN commentator LZ Granderson made some observations that Cuban's remarks might be well-intentioned, if poorly executed (via CNN):
"Granderson said he was disturbed that Cuban equated the hoodie stereotype -- something he said has led to unjust treatment of African-Americans and even killings -- to the stereotype of the tattooed white ma 'If you listen to the entire interview, he certainly made it sound as if he's going to vote Sterling out, but not without some regret,' Granderson said. 'And he voiced that regret, which is we all have bigotry.'"
If Cuban's point is that it's better to shine a light on prejudice and bigotry then there can't be simply a list of excuses. There must also be honest dialogues about how to destroy old notions of hatred. Simply admitting them isn't enough.
Mark Cuban might be in favor of less legislation of speech and behavior, which is a valid point. But the examples set by an elite group of athletes and entrepreneurs have massive ramifications in the long-term (via New Yorker):
"'[Says Mark Cuban] There's no law against stupid.'" But there's no reason not to hold players and owners to a higher standard. The crackdown by pro leagues on offensive speech may generate concerns about the rights of players, or about the reflexive nature of the kind of group outrage that's fostered by the Internet. Some of these concerns are legitimate. But a corporation making its employees responsible for the things they say can have a sweeping impact when it happens to be a corporation that has millions of fans.
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