The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/white-house" target="_blank" rel="noopener">White House</a> featured billionaire and Joe Biden-supporter <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mark-cuban" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mark Cuban</a> at a healthcare event on Monday, a team-up that could spell trouble for bipartisan priorities due to the billionaire&#8217;s recent high-profile defense of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives that have become toxic with conservatives.
Cuban, who has a pharmaceutical company that claims it is <a href="https://costplusdrugs.com/mission/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">seeking</a> to make medicines more accessible and affordable, spoke during a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiA6hAslOFg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">roundtable discussion</a> focused on pharmacy benefit managers, better known as PBMs, that Biden administration officials argue are &#8220;prescription drug middlemen&#8221; that should be subject to more transparency in a bid to lower Rx costs.
There is a bipartisan push in Washington, D.C., to implement new restrictions on PBMs, but the involvement of Cuban — who on Monday also revealed he would back Biden for re-election in a face-off against former President Donald Trump — could make it an increasingly partisan fight. Cuban has caused a stir in the political sphere in recent months with his comments on DEI initiatives that conservatives and other detractors have lambasted as discriminatory.
In January, as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-mark-cuban-debate-dei-when-should-we-expect-to-see-a-short-white-asian-woman-on-the-mavs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported by The Daily Wire</a>, Cuban and fellow billionaire Elon Musk got into a social media spat over the controversial race-based hiring practice. Whereas Musk said DEI is &#8220;just another word for racism,” Cuban argued that the principles of DEI are good for businesses as well as employees.
Cuban, who used to be viewed as a political centrist, elicited more blowback a few weeks later with yet another post to X related to DEI.
&#8220;I only ever hire the person that will put my business in the best position to succeed,&#8221; Cuban <a href="https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/1751756023382052914" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;And yes, race and gender can be part of the equation. I view diversity as a competitive advantage.&#8221;
He received a response from Andrea Lucas, a commissioner for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which is tasked with <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/overview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">enforcing federal laws</a> that make it illegal for discrimination against job applicants or workers based on their sex, race, religion, and more.
&#8220;If any employer, whether private or public, uses race or sex or any other protected characteristic, particularly race or sex, as any factor in their decision-making process for any employment decision then they&#8217;ve violated Title VII and an employee that&#8217;s been harmed can file a complaint with the EEOC and then if they get a right to sue letter, they can file in federal court,&#8221; Lucas <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/federal-commissioner-fires-back-mark-cuban-diversity-claim-warning-dei-problems" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Fox News</a>.
Cuban&#8217;s social media commentary, particularly when it comes to DEI, has generated some consternation among the offices of Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
According to conversations The Daily Wire had with some GOP Senate staffers on Monday, any White House initiative that involves Cuban is a turnoff for Republicans — a sentiment that could extend to <a href="https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/wyden-and-crapo-introduce-finance-committee-pbm-bill#:~:text=Washington%2C%20D.C.%20%E2%80%93%20Senate%20Finance%20Committee,practices%20in%20the%20pharmaceutical%20supply" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PBM reforms</a> being <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4507164-government-funding-bills-leave-out-phamacy-benefit-manager-industry-changes-as-white-house-mulls-reforms/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">considered</a> by the Biden administration and Congress.
One source said Cuban used to be viewed by Republican staffers as more &#8220;neutral&#8221; and someone who valued hard work, but is now not as well liked and seen as a &#8220;creature of the Left&#8221; as evidenced by his &#8220;activism&#8221; in favor of DEI.
&#8220;I can&#8217;t stand Mark Cuban. I saw the White House is trotting him out &#8230; He&#8217;s the worst possible spokesperson for them,&#8221; another staffer said.
The second GOP staffer added, &#8220;I don&#8217;t know that much about PBMs but if Mark Cuban is against them, then I&#8217;m for them.&#8221;
Cuban cast a &#8220;protest vote against&#8221; Trump  in the Texas GOP primary by casting a ballot for primary opponent Nikki Haley. He said he would not vote for Trump, even if Biden was literally on his deathbed.
“If they were having his last wake, and it was him versus Trump, and he was being given last rites, I would still vote for Joe Biden,” Cuban <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-04/mark-cuban-backs-biden-over-trump-in-2024-calls-for-drug-cost-reform" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Bloomberg News</a>, alluding to concerns about the 81-year-old president&#8217;s age that have dogged his re-election campaign.

Mark Cuban

Mark Cuban Continues Partisan Turn, Announces Support For Biden After White House Healthcare Event

White House Trots Out Mark Cuban, DEI-Defending Billionaire Supports Biden Over Trump

2024 Election

Donald Trump

Health Care

Politics

U.S.

A no-nonsense black Chicago pastor <a href="https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1744782233687470514.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">slammed</a> Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban for his wholehearted embrace of DEI policies, saying that Cuban’s position was “deeply flawed” and DEI policies are a “poisonous ideology.”
After Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stated, “Discrimination on the basis of race, which DEI does, is literally the definition of racism,” Cuban responded that it is a “a given that there are people of various races, ethnicities, orientation, etc that are regularly excluded from hiring consideration.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Discrimination on the basis of race, which DEI does, is literally the definition of racism
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1742669186130755700?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Let me help you out and give you my thoughts on DEI 1. Diversity Good businesses look where others don&#39;t, to find the employees that will put your business in the best possible position to succeed. You may not agree, but I take it as a given that there are people of various… <a href="https://t.co/L00fl6ggUD">https://t.co/L00fl6ggUD</a>
&mdash; Mark Cuban (@mcuban) <a href="https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/1742690628465484204?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“I pastor one of Chicago&#8217;s toughest neighborhoods on the South Side and @mcuban&#8217;s defense of DEI is deeply flawed for one reason: this poisonous ideology has no impact on my community, the very community it professes to help,” Pastor Corey Brooks said.
Brooks noted that when people said DEI policies were being done in the name of his community, “Sometimes I laughed out loud at some of the claims. It was like listening to people who don’t know you talk about you as if they knew you deep down.”
He continued that Cuban’s assertion implied that the U.S. is systemically racist, adding, “I agree there is racism but not in the way that he thinks.”
“If @mcuban came into my community it wouldn’t take him long to understand that this DEI ideology is profoundly flawed, has no impact upon us, and creates more racial divisions,” he wrote. “The reality is that the countless of diversity programs that came into being since the late 1960s have been abysmal failures. Nearly every one of them, if not all, professed to have the goal of uplifting poor blacks after centuries of racial oppression. The original intent of Affirmative Action was true uplift by providing bootstraps: better schools, teachers and resources to uplift the undereducated segments of the black population.”
“However, this process of development was too slow for the many white university presidents who wanted to increase the diversity on their campuses now,” he pointed out. “They moved away from development to cold racial preferences. Diversity, not development, became the new virtue of our times. At the same time, our community was bombarded with one liberal policy after another since the 1960s.”
“Instead of embracing freedom and responsibility, too many of us allowed ourselves to be seduced into the culture of dependency. Those who could escape and make a life for themselves did and many did,” he recalled. “But for those of us who have been caught up in the multigenerational cycle of societal and governmental dependency, that is the only world they know. And we ask them to believe in the American Dream?”
“This is the world of bad faith that I’m trying to reverse every day with my work in the streets, which includes overseeing the building of a community center that came after long years of struggle. &#8230; many kids in my neighborhood have made it out — one of them was just awarded a prestigious fellowship at NASA.”
“The only tool I used with these youths: the American principles,” he declared. “Be on time. Say, yes sir, no sir. Respect your elders. Be responsible. Be accountable. Save money. Build credit. Plan for the future. Be a parent. Get married. You fall, get back up. Never give up. Just do it.”
“That is why I laugh out loud when I heard DEI advocates describe merit and punctuality as white supremacist values. Too many people were destroyed by this culture of dependency and now they want to take away all the remaining lifelines to a life of possibility and future?” he asked rhetorically.
“What Cuban doesn’t realize from his post is that the systemic racism that my community faces is not white supremacy but post-60s liberalism,” Brooks stated. “With diversity and not development as its focus, every one of those principles was created in the name of our inferiority.”
“It is my mission in life to develop strong individuals to the point where the thought of using race as an advantage would be an insult to their well-earned pride. We are only at the beginning of reversing the fortunes of our community and we have a long ways to go. We may not save everybody. But we know the harsh realities and it is our refusal to look way to some false ideological comforts that gives us the best chance of giving these young Americans a good life. That is how you create a deep and meritorious talent pool,” he concluded.

MixCollage-10-Jan-2024-01-51-PM-5399

No-Nonsense Chicago Pastor Slams Mark Cuban’s Embrace Of DEI Policies

Chicago

Corey Brooks

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Pastor

Billionaires <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/elon-musk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elon Musk</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mark-cuban" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mark Cuban</a> got into a social media spat this week over the controversial race-based hiring practice adopted by numerous companies and institutions known as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
The argument began Wednesday when Cuban, the former owner of the Dallas Mavericks, took exception to Musk’s definition of DEI after the X owner <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1742653436393406618">said</a>, “DEI is just another word for racism,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1742669186130755700">adding</a> that it discriminates “on the basis of race,” which “is literally the definition of racism.”
Cuban <a href="https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/1742690628465484204">responded</a> to Musk’s comment in a lengthy post on X, attempting to defend DEI in hiring practices. In his post, Cuban argued that diversity, equity, and inclusion are all good goals for companies to pursue, writing, “Having a workforce that is diverse and representative of your stakeholders is good for business.” He added, “Equity is a core principle of business. Put your employees in a position to succeed.” Cuban then gave his defense for companies focusing on equity.
“Great companies create environments that reduce unnecessary stress of their employees (I’m not talking hitting quota or getting the product out the door stress), which in turn increases productivity. This is what inclusion is all about,” Cuban wrote. “Making all employees, no matter who they are or how they see themselves, feel comfortable in their environment and able to do their jobs.”
Musk <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1742994070195094002">replied</a> to Cuban’s post on Thursday, writing, “Cool, so when should we expect to see a short white/Asian women [sic] on the Mavs?”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Cool, so when should we expect to see a short white/Asian women on the Mavs?
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1742994070195094002?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Musk’s question caused Cuban to post another lengthy post, attempting to explain what he meant by his defense of DEI.
“Since this seems to be the most common response, let me address it. DEI does not mean you don&#8217;t hire on merit. Of course you hire based on merit. Diversity &#8211; means you expand the possible pool of candidates as widely as you can,” said Cuban. “Once you have identified the candidates, you HIRE THE PERSON YOU BELIEVE IS THE BEST.”
“What makes the whole ‘what about the players’ comment ridiculous is that it presumes that all positions are hired based on some quantitative rather than subjective version of merit,” the billionaire businessman continued. “They aren&#8217;t. Even choosing the best basketball player is very much a guess. Which is why the best players weren&#8217;t always the first pick in the draft and some go undrafted. The reality is that most positions hired in a company don&#8217;t have a quantitative metric you can use to hire someone. How do you pick the best barista, sales assistant, marketing or salesperson, etc? More often than not it&#8217;s an educated guess.”
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The two billionaires then appeared to agree on at least one aspect of looking at diversity in the hiring process.
“I do think that if merit for a given job is roughly the same, then the tiebreaker should be diversity (of all kinds),” <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1743025029900579277">said</a> Musk to which Cuban <a href="https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/1743085683969806535">responded</a>, “Which is no different than what I have been saying. You expand the candidate pool and you are going to find great people that others ignore.”
Large companies in the U.S. have integrated DEI policies into their hiring practices, causing some companies to be accused of race and sex discrimination. Technology company International Business Machines (IBM) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ibm-hosts-internships-that-bar-whites-asians-and-men-with-exception-for-men-who-identify-as-women">sponsored</a> paid internship opportunities, one of which barred white and Asian applicants, and another that was only for women, with an exception for men who identify as women.
Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/blatantly-illegal-nascar-bans-white-applicants-from-diversity-internship">NASCAR</a> offered a paid “diversity internship” that excluded white people from applying, which was first reported by The Daily Wire. After the Daily Wire report, NASCAR <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nascar-takes-down-blatantly-illegal-racial-requirement-for-internship-after-daily-wire-report">removed</a> the racial requirement for its internship.

Mark Cuban/Elon Musk

Elon Musk, Mark Cuban Debate DEI: ‘When Should We Expect To See A Short White/Asian Woman On The Mavs?’

Elon Musk, Mark Cuban Debate DEI: 'When Should We Expect To See A Short White/Asian Woman On The Mavs?'

Business

Elon Musk

Equity

Social Issues

Billionaire venture capitalist <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mark-cuban">Mark Cuban</a> announced he’s leaving the hit ABC <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/reality-tv">reality series</a>, “Shark Tank,” after season 16.
The 65-year-old owner of the Dallas Mavericks made the revelation during an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/entertainment">episode</a> of the Showtime podcast, &#8220;All The Smoke,&#8221; per <a href="https://deadline.com/2023/11/mark-cuban-leaving-shark-tank-after-season-16-1235639043/">Deadline</a>. 
“It’s time,” Cuban said of his decision to move on from the series. 
He’s been one of the main investors on the show for most of its run after appearing as a guest star in season 2. “Shark Tank” has been popular since it premiered in 2009. The series, which was created by Mark Burnett, allows hopeful entrepreneurs to pitch their business ideas to the “sharks” in hopes of getting an investment.
The other longtime shark investors on the show include Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John, and Kevin O&#8217;Leary. 
“I love it because it sends the message the American Dream is alive and well,” Cuban told the podcast hosts. “I feel like in doing &#8216;Shark Tank&#8217; all these years, we’ve trained multiple generations of entrepreneurs that if somebody can come from Iowa or Sacramento or wherever, and show up on the carpet of Shark Tank and show their business and get a deal, it’s going to inspire generations of kids.”
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He continued, “That’s what happens, right? Now we’ve got people coming on saying I watched you when I was 10 years old. I’m like, f***. But we’re helping them right? I’ve invested in, I don’t know how many hundreds of companies. On a cash basis, I’m down a little bit, but on mark to market meeting, the companies are still in operation. I’m way up.”
In response to a question about how he determines what makes a good investment on “Shark Tank,” Cuban said much of it comes down to the person more than the product.
“I just listen to them. You can just tell,” the billionaire businessman said. “Body language matters, the harder they have to try to sell, the worse the deal … when someone walks in &#8216;Shark Tank,&#8217; you can tell if they are trying too hard. I have this rule: the longer the back story, the worse the deal. The minute you start telling me how hard it was for you, it’s hard for every motherf***ing entrepreneur, tell me about your business, tell me why you are going to be successful.”
“I look for ideas like, damn, why didn’t I think of that,” Cuban added.

Mark Cuban Says He’s Leaving ‘Shark Tank’ After Season 16: ‘It’s Time’

Mark Cuban Says He's Leaving 'Shark Tank' After Season 16: 'It's Time'

Entertainment

Reality TV

Television

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy pushed back on billionaire Mark Cuban’s claim that pushing “woke” capitalism is “good business.” 
During an <a href="https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1670425430770302978" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appearance</a> on “Fox News Sunday” with host Shannon Bream, Ramaswamy, author of “Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America&#8217;s Social Justice Scam,” blasted Cuban&#8217;s comments and pointed to brands like Bud Light and companies like Target as proof that going &#8220;woke&#8221; is bad for business. 
“My view is that businesses have a purpose,” Ramaswamy told Bream. “It is to provide products and services to customers who actually need them and, yes, to make a profit unapologetically.” 
“When those businesses wade into social disputes, not only is that often bad for business, just look at what happened to Bud Light, look at what’s happening to Target,” Ramaswamy added. “But more importantly, it’s bad for our civic culture in our country, because what we need is apolitical spaces that bring people together.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
2024 candidate Vivek Ramaswamy on <a href="https://twitter.com/mcuban?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mcuban</a>&#39;s comment that &#39;woke&#39; capitalism is good business:
&quot;My view is that businesses have a purpose — it is to provide products and services to customers who actually need them, and yes to make a profit unapologetically &#8230;&quot; <a href="https://t.co/C0CoZmHM4u">pic.twitter.com/C0CoZmHM4u</a>
&mdash; The Recount (@therecount) <a href="https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1670425430770302978?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Last week, Cuban said going &#8220;woke&#8221; is good for business in an <a href="https://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/insight/2023/06/11/mark-cuban-bud-light-target-woke/stories/202306110042" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, despite both Target and Anheuser Busch losing tremendous amounts in market value after conservatives pushed back on LGBT-themed campaigns. 
“There is a reason almost all the top ten market cap companies in the U.S. can be considered ‘woke.’ It’s good business,” Cuban told the newspaper. “Most CEOs have enough experience to know to just wait out the news cycle until they go to the next one.”
The “Shark Tank” co-host made similar <a href="https://www.mlive.com/politics/2023/05/call-me-woke-mark-cuban-says-on-mackinac-island.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">comments</a> in late May to Michigan business leaders, saying “woke” means ensuring a company’s workforce “looks like” a product’s customer base and “making sure you can reflect their values and being able to connect to that.” 
Ramaswamy said that places in the private sector, like sports stadiums and labs, are where Americans should be able to “unite” despite political differences. 
“So I think woke capitalism is bad for capitalism, but it’s also bad for American democracy,” Ramaswamy concluded. “That’s why I’ve been leading the crusade against it for the last several years, and that’s what I’m taking all the way to the White House.” 
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Since Bud Light partnered with social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney, a man who identifies as a woman, sales for the beer brand dropped 23.9% compared to the same time last year, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/mark-cuban-claims-companies-target-bud-light-woke-good-business" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Fox News. Similarly, Target’s market capitalization had reportedly <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/media/target-market-cap-losses-hit-15-7-billion-share-near-52-week-low-amid-woke-backlash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fallen</a> $15.7 billion as of last week following boycotts over the company selling “tuck-friendly” swimwear and having Pride Month displays that often appeared near the front of stores. 
Ramaswamy wasn’t the only one pushing back against Cuban’s &#8220;woke&#8221; business comments. Even Cuban&#8217;s fellow “Shark” Kevin O’Leary countered his claim, <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/06/14/shark-tanks-kevin-oleary-dismisses-mark-cubans-woke-business-claim/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a>, “The role of a business, a corporation in America for the last 200 years, has been to serve customers, their employees and their shareholders … not to educate society on the social issue of the day. They’re learning that very quickly.”

Vivek Ramaswamy

Vivek Ramaswamy Counters Mark Cuban’s Claim That ‘Woke’ Capitalism Is ‘Good Business’

Vivek Ramaswamy Counters Mark Cuban’s Claim That 'Woke' Capitalism Is ‘Good Business’ 

2024 Primaries

Capitalism

Elections

Entrepreneur and multibillionaire Mark Cuban slammed the Left-wing policies of San Francisco during an interview on Bill Maher&#8217;s &#8220;Club Random&#8221; podcast over the weekend.
Cuban and Maher spoke on Sunday&#8217;s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6veLM-T6ZE&amp;ab_channel=ClubRandomPodcast">episode</a> of the show about the current state of affairs in the country.
“I could not live here as a permanent resident just ’cause of the taxes and the regulation,&#8221; Cuban said. &#8220;Yeah. I love coming out here, but I’m a visitor.&#8221;
&#8220;And those are the reasons – taxes and regulations?” Maher asked.
“That’s a big part of it, yeah,&#8221; Cuban responded. &#8220;Just because, I mean, look what’s happened in San Francisco, I mean, an entire industry is getting pushed out. You know, the whole technology industry went from, ‘Well, it’s ok. This is growth, this is, you know, the new thing.’ And now, you know, it’s just about people s***ting on the street.&#8221;
“I was gonna say, the cleaning-up-the-s**t-off-the street-industry is doing very well,” Maher joked. &#8220;I don’t want to add to the s**t on the street and take a dump on San Francisco. I love San Francisco. I think we all love San Francisco.&#8221;
“I’m not, I’ve never been a big San Francisco fan, at all,” Cuban responded.
Maher noted that he knew that the city was &#8220;a little cliquey.&#8221;
“Pretentious as f***,” Cuban responded. “Right? Being in the tech industry everybody is the smartest motherf***er in the world if you live in Silicon Valley.”
Cuban continued, “I mean, the attitudes, I mean, it’s just like, ‘We’re tech bros. We’re tech bros. Of course, we’re smarter. You know, we went to Harvard, we went to MIT, we’re in tech. You just can’t hang. You don’t know what the f***k is going on.’ I do all I can not to let any of my investments work outta Silicon Valley.&#8221;
“There’s a lot of capital there so that people follow the money. I get that. Right. But the pretentiousness and the attitude and the expectations and the arrogance, like it’s just a business,&#8221; Cuban added. &#8220;And you can be good anywhere in the world. Hopefully, you’ll come here to this country and, you know, make the choice like immigrants used to and come here and start companies. But I’d rather start a business in Dallas all day, every day.&#8221;
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Mark Cuban | Club Random with Bill Maher" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v6veLM-T6ZE?start=330&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&nbsp;

Dallas Mavericks v Phoenix Suns

Mark Cuban Bashes Progressive San Francisco Tech Industry: ‘Pretentious As F***’

Bill Maher

California

Celebrities

San Francisco

Silicon Valley

Billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban recently added the entire town of Mustang, Texas, to his portfolio.
The town boasts 77 acres and a population of 21 — and Cuban does not have any definitive plans for the property. As he told The Dallas Morning News: &#8220;I don&#8217;t know what if anything I will do with it.”
<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/03/business/mark-cuban-mustang-texas/index.html">CNN Business</a> reported:
<blockquote>The town was founded in the early 1970s, when it was known mostly as a local watering hole in an otherwise dry Navarro County, according to the paper. These days, there&#8217;s little more than a trailer park and a strip club, Wispers Cabaret, which is reportedly in disrepair. On Friday, Google Maps showed the name of the club had been edited to &#8220;Mark Cubaret.&#8221; …
Nearby attractions? Well, you&#8217;ve got Dallas about 45 minutes north. And history buffs with a penchant for cult lore will be pleased to find that the city of Waco is just over an hour&#8217;s drive southwest of Mustang. And just two miles from Wispers, there&#8217;s &#8220;Navarro County&#8217;s first and only vineyard and winery,&#8221; Angelita (which honestly looks super cute).</blockquote>
Beyond entire Texas municipalities and NBA teams, another favorite investment vehicle of Cuban’s is Bitcoin.
“BTC is digital gold. It wins that use case,” Cuban <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/its-better-than-gold-mark-cuban-defends-bitcoin-despite-price-drop">tweeted</a> in June. “Every other platform from Eth to you name it will win or lose based on their user base. Over time, as happened with tech stocks, people will understand the valuation metrics of networks/platforms and invest based them.”
“Crypto outperforms stocks not just on transparency, but by allowing tokens to share all the economics with holders. Revenues always get to holders, not to retained earnings. That’s huge. The economics of apps and innovation are far better for entreprenuers and investors,” Cuban continued.
“Will some fail. Of course. Will there be fraud. Yep,” Cuban acknowledged in another thread. “But over time the apps will get better, there will be greater network effects and UI/UX will make it easy for anyone to participate and understand. When Textbooks are NFTs and kids know its better than physical books and the used book market, they will go to the platform that is the path of least resistance. The challenge for all networks/platforms is how big does the early mover advantage get?”
Earlier this year, Cuban threw his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-4-business-moguls-cheering-for-the-little-guys-in-the-gamestop-fiasco">support</a> behind amateur Wall Street investors pouring money into stocks heavily shorted by leading hedge funds.
“I got to say I LOVE LOVE what is going on with #wallstreetbets,” he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mark-cuban-backs-wallstreetbets-i-love-love-what-is-going-on">said</a> on Twitter. “All of those years of High Frequency Traders front running retail traders, now speed and density of information and retail trading is giving the little guy an edge.”
“Even my 11 yr old traded w them and made $,” he added.
In an interview with CNBC, Cuban said that “As someone who’s shorted stocks many times… you know exactly what you’re getting into, and you know exactly what the risks are.”

Mark Cuban Visits “Mornings With Maria”

Mark Cuban Bought An Entire Town In Texas

On a recent appearance on the “10 Questions with Kyle Brandt” <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/36RvI9hPV7zVUWo4C59pkd">podcast</a>, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said that he will require his employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
“It is your choice. It is absolutely, positively up to you. But there are consequences that come with that,” Cuban <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/mavericks/2021/10/13/mark-cuban-stiffens-covid-19-stance-if-you-work-for-me-i-require-my-employees-to-be-vaccinated/">said</a>. “If you work for me, I require my employees to be vaccinated unless there’s a doctor’s reason where they can’t be. I don’t want my kids to be at risk, so the consequences of you not being vaccinated is I’m not going to shut the [expletive] up. I’m going to be in your mother[expletive] ear driving you mother[expletive]s crazy.”
In early October, the Mavericks announced that fans will be required to provide proof of the vaccine or have a negative COVID test in order to attend Mavericks home games. All attendees over the age of two will also be required to wear a mask inside the arena. 
Cuban discussed the arena&#8217;s COVID-19 requirements with Brandt, saying that he believes in natural immunity but would rather &#8220;err on the side of caution,&#8221; which is the reason for the negative test.
&#8220;I&#8217;m a believer in natural immunity,&#8221; Cuban <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/36RvI9hPV7zVUWo4C59pkd">said</a>. &#8220;Meaning, if you&#8217;ve got COVID, you probably are immune for some period of time. We don&#8217;t know how long, but you are immune.&#8221;
Cuban went on to say that the only way to confirm that a fan still has the antibodies is to &#8220;Ask you to go get a blood test to confirm you still have your antibodies&#8221; or &#8220;Just ask for a negative test.&#8221;
On Monday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued an executive order banning vaccine mandates by employers, including private companies, throughout the state. The order reads: 
<blockquote>No entity in Texas can compel receipt of a COVID-19 vaccine by any individual, including an employee or a consumer, who objects to such vaccination for any reason of personal conscience, based on a religious belief, or for medical reasons, including prior recovery from COVID-19. I hereby suspend all relevant statutes to the extent necessary to enforce this prohibition.</blockquote>
On Tuesday, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines — which are both based in Texas — said that they would follow federal contractor guidelines and still require their employees to be vaccinated. 
As previously reported by The Daily Wire, Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly pointed to President Joe Biden for its decision to mandate the vaccine for Southwest employees. 
​​“I’ve never been in favor of corporations imposing that kind of a mandate,” Kelly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/southwest-ceo-blames-joe-biden-for-airlines-vaccine-mandate">told</a> CNBC on Tuesday morning. “I’m not in favor of that, never have been. But the executive order from President Biden mandates that all federal employees and then all federal contractors, which covers all major airlines, have to have a vaccine mandate in place by December 8. So we’re working through that.”
As the NBA season rapidly approaches, the league has been forced to deal with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, including from a number of players who spoke out against the vaccine as well as pressure from society to be vaccinated. 
Players such as Kyrie Irving, of the Brooklyn Nets, Bradley Beal, of the Washington Wizards, and Jonathan Isaac, of the Orlando Magic, have refused the vaccine. For Irving, his decision to remain unvaccinated is having real-life consequences. 
In order to play in Brooklyn’s home games at Barclays Center, players must have at least one dose of the vaccine, per New York requirements. On Tuesday, Nets general manager Sean Marks announced that Irving will not be allowed to practice or play “until he is eligible to be a full participant.”
“Given the evolving nature of the situation and after thorough deliberation, we have decided Kyrie Irving will not play or practice with the team until he is eligible to be a full participant,” Marks <a href="https://twitter.com/malika_andrews/status/1447940549693091841">said</a> in a statement.
The NBA season tips off October 19, and the Mavericks first game is October 21 against the Atlanta Hawks. 
Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to sports@dailywire.com.

Dallas Mavericks v Miami Heat

‘If You Work For Me, I Require My Employees To Be Vaccinated’: Dallas Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban

COVID-19 Vaccine

Despite massive levels of volatility in the cryptocurrency market resulting in a decline in Bitcoin prices — briefly dropping below $30,000 in recent days — billionaire Mark Cuban has come to the coin’s defense, describing it as “better than gold.”
“BTC is digital gold. It wins that use case,” Cuban tweeted on June 21. “Every other platform from Eth to you name it will win or lose based on their user base. Over time, as happened with tech stocks, people will understand the valuation metrics of networks/platforms and invest based them.”
“Crypto outperforms stocks not just on transparency, but by allowing tokens to share all the economics with holders. Revenues always get to holders, not to retained earnings. That&#8217;s huge. The economics of apps and innovation are far better for entreprenuers and investors,” Cuban added.
“Talk about OLD takes,” responded Oliver Renick, a lead anchor at TD Ameritrade Network. “Bitcoin is making no discernable progress towards digital gold. Why are we still assuming it will at some point in the future?”
“Its BETTER than gold,” Cuban said, retweeting Renick. “No worries about storing it. Easy to transfer. Easy to trade. Easy to convert. Doesn&#8217;t require an intermediary. Can be fractionalized. Biggest BTC challenge? No William Devane type commercials and all the people who believe gold is an inflation hedge.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Its BETTER than gold. No worries about storing it. Easy to transfer. Easy to trade. Easy to convert. Doesn&#39;t require an intermediary. Can be fractionalized. Biggest BTC challenge? No William Devane type commercials and all the people who believe gold is an inflation hedge <a href="https://t.co/lZWPApMOHq">https://t.co/lZWPApMOHq</a>
&mdash; Mark Cuban (@mcuban) <a href="https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/1407044302908362759?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In the earlier tweet thread, Cuban also acknowledged various downsides of the cryptocurrency.
“Will some fail. Of course. Will there be fraud. Yep. But over time the apps will get better, there will be greater network effects and UI/UX will make it easy for anyone to participate and understand,” Cuban wrote. “When Textbooks are NFTs and kids know its better than physical books and the used book market, they will go to the platform that is the path of least resistance. The challenge for all networks/platforms is how big does the early mover advantage get?”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
When Textbooks are NFTs and kids know its better than physical books and the used book market, they will go to the platform that is the path of least resistance. The challenge for all networks/platforms is how big does the early mover advantage get ?
&mdash; Mark Cuban (@mcuban) <a href="https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/1407040323113656326?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
As noted by <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/mark-cuban-bitcoin-better-than-gold">Fox Business</a>, Cuban “has been an outspoken proponent of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. His NBA team, the Dallas Mavericks, announced in March that it would begin accepting dogecoin for tickets and merchandise.”
Cuban has been vocal when it comes to other areas of market volatility in recent months. In January, for example, Cuban celebrated the so-called WallStreetBets movement, “the famed Reddit board that drove up GameStop’s stock as a hit against Wall Street hedge fund managers engaged in short selling.”
“I got to say I LOVE LOVE what is going on with #wallstreetbets. All of those years of High Frequency Traders front running retail traders, now speed and density of information and retail trading is giving the little guy an edge. Even my 11 yr old traded w them and made $,” he tweeted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I got to say I LOVE LOVE what is going on with <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/wallstreetbets?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#wallstreetbets</a>. All of those years of High Frequency Traders front running retail traders,now speed and density of information and retail trading is giving the little guy an edge. Even my 11 yr old traded w them and made $
&mdash; Mark Cuban (@mcuban) <a href="https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/1354613692239925249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
As reported by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mark-cuban-backs-wallstreetbets-i-love-love-what-is-going-on">The Daily Wire</a>, Cuban argued on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that WallStreetBets engaged in the same kind of behavior as any brokerage firm.
“How is this any different than what every brokerage firm does?” Cuban asked.
“As someone who’s shorted stocks many times … you know exactly what you’re getting into, and you know exactly what the risks are,” he later added.

‘It’s BETTER Than Gold’: Mark Cuban Defends Bitcoin, Despite Price Drop

Bitcoin

Cryptocurrency

On Monday, The Washington Post published an <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/mark-cuban-national-anthem-nba/2021/02/15/0eb0e8bc-6fc1-11eb-b8a9-b9467510f0fe_story.html">opinion piece</a> from a former Post sports columnist, in which he stated that “we’ve now weaponized the ‘Star-Spangled Banner,’&#8221; adding, “Wholly supporting its continued inclusion at domestic sporting events is our new shallow-end referendum on patriotism. &#8230; There is a silent majority out there, tired of the hate being spewed in the name of patriotism.”
Mike Wise began his essay by referencing the recent controversy after the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told his staff to stop playing the national anthem before home basketball games. Wise termed supporters of playing the anthem before sports events the “Nationalism Police,” quoting Texas Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick stating to Cuban, “Your decision to cancel our National Anthem at @dallasmavs games is a slap in the face to every American &amp; an embarrassment to Texas. Sell the franchise &amp; some Texas Patriots will buy it. We ARE the land of free &amp; the home of the brave.”
Wise noted a meeting between NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Cuban, writing that they had a “genial chat.&#8221;
&#8220;That leash the league gave teams to do what they felt was appropriate after the summer of 2020? Gone,&#8221; wrote Wise. &#8220;Play-the-anthem league policy was reinstated, including at Mavericks games, last week.”
Wise mused, “The moment for change had passed.” Then he launched into his attack on playing the anthem before sporting events:
<blockquote>
Cuban had it right the first time. Like the flag before and after Jan. 6, we’ve now weaponized the “Star-Spangled Banner.” Wholly supporting its continued inclusion at domestic sporting events is our new shallow-end referendum on patriotism. The anthem has already split the country.
Organized sports have cheapened the national anthem for decades. The lyrics and the music have been co-opted by professional leagues determined to forge an unneeded alliance between sports and nationalism.
</blockquote>
He mocked the NFL:
<blockquote>Roger Goodell’s NFL uses America as its brand, wrapping itself in 100-yard flags, military fighter-jet flyovers and, by God, quarterbacks who stand for the national anthem. To be pro-American is to be pro-football — and revel in the absurdity of it all, the way Joe Buck and Troy Aikman <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/10/20/joe-buck-troy-aikman-hot-mic-flyover/?itid=lk_inline_manual_13">did on Fox</a> last year when their mics were still on:
Aikman: “That’s a lot of jet fuel just to do a little flyover.”
Buck, snarkily: “That’s your hard-earned money and your tax dollars at work!”
</blockquote>
Wise quoted noted leftist NBA New Orleans Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy. Van Gundy <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nbas-van-gundy-whites-are-the-ones-who-are-racist/">stated</a> in December that whites “are the ones who are racist” and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nba-analyst-stan-van-gundy-stop-ripping-china-america-committed-genocide-enslaved-lynched/">said last August</a> of America: “We committed genocide against Native Americans. We have enslaved, lynched, segregated and incarcerated blacks over 400 years. Women couldn’t vote for 140 years. Using abuses elsewhere to try to distract from our own poor record on human rights is dishonest.”
Van Gundy said of Cuban’s decision, “This should happen everywhere. If you think the anthem needs to be played before sporting events, then play it before every movie, concert, church service and the start of every work day at every business. What good reason is there to play the anthem before a game?”
Wise then surmised, “None, really, other than at the World Cup, the Olympics and maybe a state high school or college national final. There is a silent majority out there, tired of the hate being spewed in the name of patriotism.”
He morphed his argument against the anthem into an attack on the political Right by utilizing the American flag: “They see the hypocrisy, how the same far-right patriots who decry not playing an anthem at a game also remain silent when the metal pole from the Stars &amp; Stripes is used to beat and bloody a police officer on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.”
After quoting a stanza from the Star-Spangled Banner that is never sung at any sporting event that references “the hireling &amp; slave” and has been accused of being racist, Wise concluded, “We’re too polarized, politically poisoned, to toss the anthem from sports now. But in time, the anthem needs to be ejected from all the games. And when that happens, there will be a benefit: When you finally hear the lyrics and music, they might actually feel special.”

Air Force v Army

‘Hate Being Spewed In The Name Of Patriotism’: WaPo Opinion Attacks Anthem Before Games

National Anthem

Patriotism

Washington Post

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki signaled that President Joe Biden respected Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban&#8217;s decision to stop playing the national anthem before NBA games, a decision that he walked back following backlash.
&#8220;Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, said Tuesday night that he had instructed the team to stop playing the national anthem before its home games this season,&#8221; The New York Times reported. &#8220;&#8216;It was my decision, and I made it in November,&#8217; Cuban said. He declined to comment further.&#8221;
Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asked Psaki about the issue during the White House press briefing on Wednesday.
&#8220;Two topics,&#8221; Doocy <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/10/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-jen-psaki-february-10-2021/">said</a>. &#8220;First of all, what does President Biden think about the Dallas Mavericks’ owner, Mark Cuban, deciding to indefinitely stop playing the national anthem before his National Basketball Association games?&#8221;
&#8220;Well, I haven’t spoken with the president about the decision by Mark Cuban on the Dallas Mavericks — or the, I should say, the national anthem — but I know he’s incredibly proud to be an American and has great respect for the anthem and all that it represents, especially for our men and women serving in uniform around the world,&#8221; Psaki responded. &#8220;He’d also say that, of course, that part of the — that pride in our country means recognizing moments where we as a country haven’t lived up to our highest ideals, which is often and at times what people are speaking to when they take action at sporting events. And it means respecting the right of people, granted to them in the Constitution, to peacefully protest. That’s why he ran for president in the first place, and that’s what he’s focused on doing every day.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
WATCH: Reporter asks White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki about President Biden&#39;s opinion on the decision by Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to stop playing the national anthem before home games. <a href="https://t.co/5kHpWa0hdp">https://t.co/5kHpWa0hdp</a> <a href="https://t.co/Ah2ztNKiGn">pic.twitter.com/Ah2ztNKiGn</a>
&mdash; The Hill (@thehill) <a href="https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1359579553228849161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Doocy later asked a follow-up question about the administration&#8217;s attempt to get schools fully reopened and in-person learning going again.
&#8220;And then, on schools, when President Biden talked for the last couple of months, particularly during the transition, about reopening schools within the first 100 days, why didn’t he ever mentioned the small print that that was just going to be for one day a week as the goal?&#8221; Doocy asked.
&#8220;Well, again, the president made a — set a goal of reopening the majority of schools within 100 days, and when you asked what that meant, I answered the question,&#8221; she said. &#8220;So we are — that is the — that is not the ceiling, that is the — that is the bar we’re trying to leap over and exceed. And as I said in response to Kristen’s question, the president wants to not just open schools, he wants them to stay reopened. He wants kids to be back in school learning five days a week. He wants everybody — parents to feel safe, teachers to feel safe.&#8221;
&#8220;That’s why he asked his Department of Education and the CDC to work together on guidelines,&#8221; she added. &#8220;That’s why he’s put funding — proposed funding in the American Rescue Plan, because he knows that’s not going to happen on its own. It’s going to need some assistance to make it — make it reality.&#8221;

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki Holds News Briefing At White House

Psaki On Dallas Mavericks Stopping National Anthem Before Games: It’s About Recognizing U.S. Isn’t Perfect

Jen Psaki

Sports

The NHL&#8217;s Dallas Stars announced Wednesday that they will be playing the national anthem ahead of their games.
The announcement came in contrast to billionaire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mavericks-have-stopped-playing-national-anthem-at-mark-cubans-direction">Mark Cuban&#8217;s earlier statement</a> that the NBA&#8217;s Dallas Mavericks, a team Cuban owns, has stopped playing &#8220;The Star-Spangled Banner&#8221; before their home games.
“The playing of the national anthem is a time-honored tradition and the Dallas Stars will continue to perform the Star-Spangled Banner prior to our games at American Airlines Center,&#8221; read a statement from Dallas Stars.
&#8220;As the only National Hockey League team in Texas, we are proud to represent our state and our country,&#8221; the statement added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
We have issued the following statement regarding the National Anthem. <a href="https://t.co/7ZR7HXMW73">pic.twitter.com/7ZR7HXMW73</a>
&mdash; Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) <a href="https://twitter.com/DallasStars/status/1359582297905913864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Athletic <a href="https://theathletic.com/2376670/2021/02/09/dallas-mavericks-anthem-nba-mark-cuban/">reported</a> Tuesday that the Mavericks had stopped playing the national anthem before home games this season, at the direction of Cuban, &#8220;and do not plan to play it moving forward.&#8221;
The anthem-snub, The Athletic&#8217;s <a href="https://twitter.com/tim_cato/status/1359302274577801217">Tim Cato</a> noted, is “the first instance we know of a pro sports team striking the U.S. anthem from the pre-game.”
“None of 13 preseason and regular-season games played at the American Airlines Center this season have featured the anthem before the game, including Monday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the first played this season with a limited amount of fans in attendance,” <a href="https://theathletic.com/2376670/2021/02/09/dallas-mavericks-anthem-nba-mark-cuban/">reported</a> The Athletic. “The Mavericks did not publicize the anthem’s removal, and The Athletic was the first media organization to reach out about the change after noticing its absence on Monday. Multiple team employees described only noticing the anthem’s removal on their own, as it was also not announced or explained internally.”
Cuban&#8217;s planned anthem crackdown, however, was seemingly short-lived.
In a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-nba-derails-mark-cuban-plans-to-banish-anthem-from-dallas-nba-games">statement</a> released Wednesday afternoon, NBA Chief Communications Officer Mike Bass said the league will play the anthem before games as they start to welcome back fans. Stadiums and arenas have generally been empty or limited across professional sports due to coronavirus precautions.
“With NBA teams now in the process of welcoming fans back into their arenas, all teams will play the national anthem in keeping with longstanding league policy,” the statement said, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported.
As highlighted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-nba-derails-mark-cuban-plans-to-banish-anthem-from-dallas-nba-games">The Daily Wire</a>, controversy surrounding the anthem was sparked in 2016, when then-NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick politicized “The Star-Spangled Banner” by refusing to stand because, according to Kaepernick, America “oppresses” minorities and allows its cops to “murder” innocent people of color.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick <a href="http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/08/27/kaepernick-refuses-to-show-pride-in-a-country-that-oppresses-black-people/">told</a> Steve Wyche of NFL Media at the start of his protest, back in 2016. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
“This is not something that I am going to run by anybody,” he added. “I am not looking for approval. I have to stand up for people that are oppressed. … If they take football away, my endorsements from me, I know that I stood up for what is right.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-nba-derails-mark-cuban-plans-to-banish-anthem-from-dallas-nba-games">NBA Derails Mark Cuban Plans To Banish Anthem From Dallas NBA Games</a>

Dallas Stars v Toronto Maple Leafs

NHL’s Dallas Stars’ Statement After Mark Cuban Anthem Ban: We’re Playing The National Anthem

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