Cuban sounds off on Trump, Parkland at Whitney Young
When students from Parkland, Fla., gather in Washington D. C. later this month to push for gun control, some will be there courtesy of tech entrepreneur Mark Cuban.
Friday at Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, Cuban revealed he has paid for flights to D. C. for students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., where 17 people were shot and killed Feb. 14.
Students from the high school have responded by demanding action on gun control and planning a rally and march in Washington, set for March 24.
“When kids in high school talk truth to power, that’s when the world changes,” said Cuban, who was at the school to field questions from teen fans of the TV show “Shark Tank,” on which he appears.
Cuban skirted a question from Whitney Young principal Joyce D. Kenner about his political plans, noting that no one has mentioned him running for president — no one, he said, except Donald Trump, who mocked the possibility in a tweet.
“I’m obviously not a fan of our current president, but . . . more important than what my politics are — you guys, those of you who’ll be old enough to vote, vote.”
More than 500 students gathered in the school’s theater to ask questions. One student asked what steps Cuban is taking to change the culture of the Dallas Mavericks, the National Basketball Association team he owns, after Sports Illustrated detailed an atmosphere of sexual harassment within Cuban’s company.
Cuban said the allegations were a “shock” but that he’s hired a new female CEO, Cynthia Marshall, and brought in investigators and counselors to find out what happened.
“There were a lot of things that weren’t true, but that doesn’t diminish the pain that the women went through. And it doesn’t diminish the respect I have for them for speaking out.”
Another student asked about Cuban’s recent “tanking” comments in which he said the Mavericks’ best option — to improve their position in the NBA draft — would be losing. In response, the NBA fined him $ 600,000.
“The NBA does not always want you telling the truth, and I got fined for it,” Cuban said.
Senior student Penn Koeneman followed up with what he called a “softball question” — who would win Friday’s game between the Mavericks and Bulls?
“That’s no longer a softball question,” Cuban said. “So, hopefully, the Mavs.”