Mavs owner Cuban confesses prejudice, bigotry in interview
Dallas Mavericks owner MarkCuban, inaninterview focused on many societal issues, told Inc. that even he harbors “prejudices and bigotries.”
Theinterviewwas posted to Cuban’sTwitter page, and ranges in scope from economics to the NBA’s hottest topic, disgraced Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling.
Cuban, asked what he does to combat bigotry and racism he encounters in his daily life, offered a cast-thefirst-stone response.
“If I see a black kid in a hoodie and it’s late at night, I’mwalking to the other side of the street. And if on that side of the street, there’s a guy that has tattoos all over his face — white guy, bald head, tattoos everywhere — I’m walking back to the other side of the street,” he said. “I know that I’m not perfect. While we all have our prejudices and bigotries, we have to learn that it’s an issue thatwehave to control, that it’s part of my responsibility as an entrepreneur to try to solve it, not just to kick the problemdownthe road.”
Cuban later apologized to the family of slain south Florida teenager Trayvon Martin for using “a black kid in a hoodie” as a reference point.
Trayvon was killed in a confrontation with Sanford community-watch patroller George Zimmerman in February 2012.
“In hindsight I should have used different examples. I didn’t consider the TrayvonMartin family, andI apologize to them for that,” Cuban said on Twitter. “Beyond apologizing to the Martin family, I stand by the words and substance of the interview.”
Cuban reacted harshly and promptly when news leaked of Sterling’s audio-recorded comments, a rant secretly recorded by his girlfriend and released nationally. He said the comments were “abhorrent and obviously racist” but cautioned banning an ownerby forcing them to sell was a “slippery slope.”
In the interview at the GrowCo Conference in Nashville, Cuban said he is addressing his own weaknesses and has hope many others will do the same.
“In this day and age, this country has really come a longway putting any type of bigotry behind us, regardless of who it’s toward,” Cuban said Wednesday. “We’ve come a long way, and with that progress comes a price. We’re a lotmore vigilant and we’re a lot less tolerant of different views, and it’s not necessarily easy for everybody to adapt or evolve.”
The NBA is moving in fast-forward to have Sterling removed. He was fined $2.5 million — the maximum allowed under the league’s CollectiveBargainingAgreement terms on owner behavior and recourse — and barred from any contact with the team. Avote will be taken by all NBA owners in June, and Cuban said Wednesday he knows how he’ll vote but is not ready to comment on it. Cuban did offer a hint when commissioner Adam Silver suspended Sterling, pledging full support of the decision. Yet thisweek Cuban reportedly said he hates that he might offer a hypocritical tallywhenthe BoardofGovernors convenes. At the GrowCo convention, Cuban repeatedly spoke with forgiveness as the root of growth being a central idea.
“I’ll try to give them a chance to improve themselves, because I think that helping people improve their lives, helping people engage with people they may fear or may not understand, andhelpingpeoplerealize that while we all may have our prejudices and bigotries we have to learn that it’s an issue that we have to control, that it’s part of my responsibility as an entrepreneur to try to solve it, not just to kick the problem downthe road,” Cuban said.