Unequal treatment
Why is Mavericks owner Mark Cuban not getting as much punishment as Ohio State coach Urban Meyer?
If Urban Meyer is bad for turning a blind eye to domestic violence and alleged crimes against women, Mark Cuban is even worse.
If school president Michael Drake is going to be vilified for allowing Meyer to continue coaching the Ohio State Buckeyes, NBA commissioner Adam Silver should be berated and castigated twice as much for allowing Cuban to continue owning the Dallas Mavericks.
At least Ohio State — as big a sham as its internal investigation was in the wake of college football reporter Brett McMurphy uncovering how Meyer had been harboring alleged domestic abuser Zach Smith on his coaching staff for years — publicly embarrassed its marquee head coach by suspending him for three games.
And what punishment did Silver dole out to Cuban earlier this week following an NBA internal investigation in the wake of Sports Illus-
trated reporters Jon Wertheim and Jessica Luther uncovering “a corporate culture rife with misogyny and predatory sexual behavior” that spanned decades in the Mavericks’ organization, including numerous allegations against former CEO and team president Terdema Ussery?
Silver didn’t suspend Cuban. Silver didn’t fine Cuban. Silver didn’t even give Cuban a public reprimand.
No, Adam Silver actually commended Cuban.
“We appreciate that Mark Cuban reacted swiftly, thoroughly and transparently to the allegations,” Silver said in a statement.
Silver and the NBA should be ashamed of themselves.
The only difference between Urban Meyer and Mark Cuban is Meyer didn’t stroke a check for $10 million.
Presumably, billionaire Cuban’s decision to donate that $10 million to women’s organizations is supposed to make everything right and erase the fact that he’s been operating the Mavericks like a chauvinistic, misogynistic, boys-will-be-boys college frat house for years.
If former Clippers owner Donald Sterling got his franchise taken away for making racist comments in a brief private phone conversation with his mistress, why does Cuban not even get a public rebuke for running a blatantly sexist organization for nearly two decades?
The double-standard is absolutely astonishing. Because Sterling was an old, doddering, conservative owner, he got booted out of the league. Cuban, on the other hand, is the hip, popular, progressive owner who doesn’t even get a slap on the wrist.
Can you imagine the public outcry if another old, stodgy conservative — Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones — ran a sexist organization like Cuban’s crosstown Mavericks? And can you imagine the national outrage if NFL commissioner Roger Goodell did nothing to punish Jones for having his head buried in his bank account while his male employees beat up, groped and sexually harassed women?
Isn’t it funny how America reacts to scandals based on the public perception of the individuals involved? Meyer, for instance, has almost been universally disliked by the masses even before it was learned he kept a creep like Smith on his staff for years.
The perception of Meyer — well-earned, by the way — is that of an arrogant, disingenuous college football coach who will do anything to win.
Cuban, on the other hand, has always been beloved by the masses. He is the funny, quirky, outgoing, off-the-wall, anti-establishment NBA owner who feuds with President Trump and co-hosts “Shark Tank.”
Even though there are many similarities in the two scandals involving Cuban and Meyer, Cuban’s transgressions seem 10 times worse to me. Both scandals only came to light when hard-working journalists did their jobs and shined a light inside the stench-filled sewer of big-time sports. And both Cuban and Meyer have tried to portray themselves as ignorant bystanders who really didn’t know what was going on underneath them.
“In hindsight, it was staring me right in the face and I missed it,” Cuban told ESPN. “You know ... I wasn’t as focused on the business as I should’ve been.”
Cuban sounds like Rick Pitino saying he was oblivious to the hookers and strippers being used to entice recruits to sign with Louisville. Puh-leeze! Cuban is a hands-on owner of an NBA franchise whose team president and CEO, for years, was a well-known sexual harasser.
One longtime Mavs employee told Sports Illustrated, “Trust me, Mark knows everything that goes on. Of course Mark knew [about the instances of harassment and assault]. Everyone knew.”
Sports Illustrated also uncovered the fact that team website reporter Earl Sneed was twice accused of domestic assault while working for the Mavericks, including a guilty plea in one case in which Sneed broke his then-girlfriend’s wrist and another case involving a female Mavs employee. Cuban, after originally claiming to SI that he had no knowledge about Sneed’s domestic-violence issues, admitted later that, um, yes he did know and it was his decision to keep Sneed on staff.
“Again, as I said, I was tone-deaf,” Cuban told ESPN. “And I have no excuse.”
At least Meyer could make the excuse that Smith was never actually arrested for domestic violence. Cuban, on the other hand, chose to keep Sneed even when he was arrested and even when was accused of abusing another Mavericks employee.
Cuban only fired Sneed after SI’s Wertheim and Luther began digging around just as Meyer only fired Smith after McMurphy began digging around.
Journalism 2, Domestic Violence Enablers 0.
And let this be a lesson to you, Urban Meyer.
Next time, write a $10 million check.