Wearing Your Team's Colors: Why Mark Cuban Is Bad for Basketball

A few days ago, I said in an audio post that I haven’t really decided whether or not I like Mark Cuban. But I also said that Mark Cuban needed to be more of a positive example because a team is a reflection of their owner.

No matter how big of a fan Mark Cuban is, it is his total disregard for the professional line that makes him an issue.

I have had a few days to really think about this, and I have made my final decision…

I don’t like Mark Cuban.

And here come the trumpet-blaring superfans: “But he’s such a passionate fan, and he’s so accessible, and he makes games more exciting!”

Well here’s a newsflash for you. He’s not accessible, he’s not making the games more exciting, and he is the wrong kind of passionate fan. And if you don’t believe me, allow me to break it down for you in three simple steps that work together to make Mark Cuban horrible for the game of basketball.

Step One: Wearing Your Team’s Colors

In any job, anywhere, you are told is that you are a representative of your employer. You have to act a certain way and, especially in this digital age, conduct yourself in a certain way so that your business doesn’t look like crap.

Well that goes both ways. If you work in a black tie banquet hall and your owner shows up shirtless in Birkenstocks and cargo shorts, you know damn well that you aren’t coming into work in a tux next time. Employees are a direct reflection of their ownership; most owners understand that. And I’m not saying you have to be a jerk, but you need to understand where the proverbial professional line is.

And no matter how big of a fan Mark Cuban is, it is his total disregard for the professional line that makes him an issue.

Step Two: The Wrong Kind Of Passionate Fan

So despite my genuine belief that Antoine Wright didn’t foul Carmelo Anthony in game 3, the general consensus is that there was a missed call. What ensued at the end of the game however was absolutely deplorable…

As an owner, Mark Cuban should be the person fining his team for all being within a foot of an official after the final whistle; yelling, cursing, and literally shoving their way closer to him. Instead, Mark Cuban was right next to them, shoving cameramen and cursing at people. If that is what you think a passionate fan is, stop watching sports immediately.

And this is where the professional line comes back into play. What other teams have you seen do anything like that this season? If a team knows that there will be absolutely zero repercussions for their on-court actions, of course they are going to do whatever they want. And in a league that is having a monstrous image problem, I wouldn’t exactly say this is good for the sport.

Step Three: Mark Cuban’s “accessibility”

Oh yeah, he also told an opposing player’s mom that her son was a thug. Now, that’s pretty out of line, but what got me even worse was the apology.

People think Cuban is accessible because he keeps a blog. That doesn’t make you accessible. What makes you accessible is if you go out for drinks with the people who read your blog, and I guarantee you Mark Cuban doesn’t do that.

So Mark Cuban, in all his accessible goodness, apologized to Kenyon Martin and his mom on his blog.

Now, I own and run a blog. But the difference here is that I don’t have a private jet, a billion dollars, and the ability to get in touch with the mainstream media anytime I wanted to. Cuban apologizing over a blog is not only a cop out, but furthermore another poor example from a man who is supposed to be in a position of influence. Because much like being taught how to intentionally foul someone at age eight, I was also taught at a young age how to apologize...face to face.

And while I don’t think Mark Cuban is a racist, it doesn’t shock me that racial slurs were spoken in the direction of Carmelo Anthony’s girlfriend, which actually started an altercation in the stands and led to her early departure during Game Four.

 

What any team needs is an owner who knows when to say “you can’t do this.” And you can call Cuban a dreamer, a super fan, and hell even the most accessible owner in sports. But until he has more of a grasp of reality, he will continue to be horrible for the sport of basketball.