Players back Cuban in national anthem flap

Most appreciate decision to not play the song before home games

DALLAS—Based on early public reaction, longtime vaguely rumoured presidential candidate Mark Cuban is unscientifically polling below 50 per cent in the wake of the United States suddenly realizing his basketball franchise wasn’t playing the country’s anthem before games.

But within the sanctity of the Mavericks’ locker room, the realm that probably most matters to Cuban, he is already a landslide winner.

“For him to have his voice and use it the way he does just shows you the type of person he is,” Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson said.

Centre Willie Cauley-Stein said that when he awoke Wednesday and saw that the Mavericks’ national anthem story had gone viral, his first thoughts were of appreciation for his boss.

“It was like, ‘Damn, he’s on some other upper level,’ ” Cauley-Stein said. “It’s not just a business to him. When you have a guy and his character fully shows and he’s not being a businessman; he’s being a human? That’s big time for a player to go through. You’ll run through a wall for that.”

During his 21 seasons as Mavericks owner, Cuban has earned a players-first reputation, initially by furnishing fluffier towels and improved locker- room food and a better plane.

Gradually that dynamic strengthened, perhaps especially during the 11 months since the pandemic halted the 201920 season — and soon after the suffocation of George Floyd beneath a Minneapolis policeman’s knee triggered national protests and dialogue about racial equality and social justice. Mavericks Brunson, Dwight Powell, Maxi Kleber and Justin Jackson joined Cuban outside Dallas police headquarters at a public vigil for Floyd last May.

“He’s someone who has your back no matter what the situation is and I’ve learned that in my 2 ⁄ years here,” Brunson 1

2 said. “It’s something that’s going to stick with me forever. He’s a guy who’s for his players, for the guys who are coaching his players, for everyone in the organization. There are so many things I could say about him, but he’s for everyone and he’s never going to change.”

Like all NBA teams, the Mavericks are a diverse collection. Six of the 17 players were born outside the U.S. and until recently probably hadn’t given much thought to “The StarSpangled Banner” and what it is supposed to represent.

Four Mavericks are white, but all were on the team last season when the franchise, publicly and internally, held what it called “courageous conversations” to deepen understanding of the history and perspective of persons of colour.

Cuban believed that, nationally, many similar conversations went unheard or were forgotten. So this season, home game after home game, the national anthem went unplayed, although it’s unclear how much the players thought about the potential ramifications.

They see it now, although amid the early uproar it’s too soon to know how much impact, if any, the fallout might affect ticket sales and sponsorships and TV ratings.

“One thing I’ll say about Mark is he’s not scared of what’s being talked about him,” CauleyStein said. “He’s not scared of doing what’s right. With the anthem, he’s got a very diverse team and he advocates to that.”