Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA basketball team Dallas Mavericks, told the team to stop playing the National Anthem before home games this season. So for the first twelve games or so, no anthem was played. Cuban says that some players on his team felt like the Star-Spangled Banner did not represent them. The decision to scrap the pre-game anthem is no doubt influenced by the “bubble” season in Orlando after the virus derailed the 2019-2020 season. The bubble was dominated by messaging of Black Lives Matter on the physical basketball court and on players’ on-court attire.
Cuban’s decision went relatively unnoticed until it hit the media. When that happened, Pandora’s Box immediately opened. A lot of fans do not like the overly-political messaging of sports because games are supposed to be fun and not a lecture. People play and/or watch games for entertainment and for an escape, not for further immersion into a sometimes pitiful reality. This is exactly why all of the “Black Lives Matter” messaging was left back in Orlando and did not make its way onto the court in the 2020-2021 season.
The NBA does not like Mark Cuban’s decision to stop the Mavericks from playing the anthem, either. As soon as the news of Cuban’s decision picked up steam, the NBA released a statement saying that every NBA team must play the anthem before their games. This, of course, includes the Dallas Mavericks. Cuban responded by saying he is “OK” with the NBA’s decision. But only time will tell the full story of how owners, GMs, players, coaches, etc will respond to the decision from the NBA to tell everyone to play the anthem before each game.
SOURCES:
Mark Cuban Says Mavericks Will No Longer Play National Anthem Before Games | Complex
Mark Cuban’s Mavericks won’t play national anthem anymore
Mark Cuban, Dallas Mavericks take smart national anthem stand – Sports Illustrated
Mavs’ Cuban relents on anthem after NBA reiterates policy
Dallas Mavericks: NBA team to resume playing the National Anthem – CNN
Dallas Mavericks To Resume Playing National Anthem Following Pushback From The NBA : NPR
Ben & Jerry’s Said Black Lives Matter and the Reaction Was Predictable – Eater
Mark Cuban Says Mavericks Will No Longer Play National Anthem Before Games | Complex
President Trump calls out Raiders’ Marshawn Lynch, who sat for U.S. national anthem but stood for Mexican version – The Washington Post
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