Mavericks players praise owner
Cuban’s call to not play anthem before games has received scrutiny
DALLAS — Based on early public reaction, longtime vaguely rumored presidential candidate Mark Cuban is unscientifically polling below 50 percent in the wake of America suddenly realizing his basketball franchise wasn’t playing the national anthem before games.
But within the sanctity of the Mavericks’ locker room, the realm that probably most matters to Cuban, he’s 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,” guard Jalen Brunson said. Center 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 get to this level, it is such a business that 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, improved locker room food and a better plane.
Gradually, that dynamic strengthened, perhaps especially during the 11 months since the coronavirus pandemic halted the 2019-20 season — and soon thereafter the suffocation of George Floyd beneath a Minneapolis policeman’s knee triggered national protests and dialogue about racial equality and social justice.
Last May 31, Brunson, Dwight Powell, Maxi Kleber and Justin Jackson joined Cuban outside Dallas Police Headquarters at a public vigil for Floyd.
“He’s someone who has your back no matter what the situation is, and I’ve learned that in my twoand-a-half years here,” Brunson said after his 11 fourth-quarter points Wednesday night helped lead a comeback victory over Atlanta.
“It’s something that’s going to stick with me forever. He’s a guy who’s for his players; is 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 United States, and until recent months, probably hadn’t given much philosophical thought to “The Star-Spangled Banner” and what it’s supposed to represent.
Four Mavericks are Caucasian, 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 color.
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, though it’s unclear how much the players thought about the potential ramifications.
They see it now, though amid the early uproar, it’s too soon to know how much impact, if any, the fallout might impact 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,” Cauley-Stein 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.”
As he spoke to reporters via Zoom on Wednesday night after he, too, played a major role in the Mavericks’ victory, Cauley-Stein’s emotions and thoughtfulness on the subjects of Cuban and the national anthem were vivid, even while speaking into a camera, with most of his face covered by a mask.
Cauley-Stein said he hopes people will carefully think about what Cuban tried to accomplish by not playing the anthem.
“A lot of people say ‘Well, that shows disrespect to the freedom the fallen soldiers have given us,’ ” Cauley-Stein said. “That same respect goes full circle. We have people that give their lives for us to make our decisions — and for us to make free decisions.“
As coach Rick Carlisle summed up earlier in the evening, “It’s been quite a day.”
A day on which Mavericks players learned even more about the franchise owner they probably thought they well-knew.