Well, if anyone was going to say something to rekindle the Donald Sterling fire, it was Mark Cuban. The Dallas Mavericks owner shared his thoughts on the Clippers’ tarnished owner in an interview with Inc. Magazine, which launched into a full-blown news piece by Thursday.
In the interview, Cuban attempted to share his concerns in regards to taking a team away from a man because of his personal opinions. In an attempt to get his point across, Cuban acknowledged that everyone harbors some level of “prejudices and bigotries,” and that, while Sterling’s comments are unacceptable, it is a challenging proposition to take the team away from the man.
"I mean, we're all prejudiced in one way or another. If I see a black kid in a hoodie and it's late at night, I'm walking to the other side of the street. And if on that side of the street, there's a guy that has tattoos all over his face -- white guy, bald head, tattoos everywhere -- I'm walking back to the other side of the street. And the list goes on of stereotypes that we all live up to and are fearful of. So in my businesses, I try not to be hypocritical. I know that I'm not perfect. I know that I live in a glass house, and it's not appropriate for me to throw stones."
The aftermath was swift and bold. Bomani Jones, a sports writer for ESPN, started a twitter battle with Cuban. The “hoodie” comment was torn apart for its uncomfortable similarity to the Trayvon Martin incident (for which Cuban apologized while standing by his intended point). The sports world erupted with reactions, each trying to decide whether Cuban was, himself, a bigoted racist, or a visionary in the social world.
Regardless of anyone’s personal opinions on Cuban, he has always been blunt in his portrayal of what is best for basketball, for sports, and for society as a whole. He has never been afraid to say what he thinks is right, regardless of the political correctness of his statement. This situation is no different. While an unpopular idea, the notion of acknowledging our own bigotries is necessary in understanding how to come to terms with Donald Sterling’s comments.
What Sterling said was heinous. It was unacceptable, it has no place in sports, let alone 21st century society, and it represents the need to take away his power in American culture. That being said, though, Cuban’s cautions about taking a person’s assets away because of a personal belief is definitely one that speaks to the rationality of the situation, rather than simply an emotional reaction.
It is impossible to know how someone feels about a given topic, until he opens his mouth. While Sterling is guilty of being a bigot, a racist, and an overall terrible person, it is important to accept a few things. First, he did not begin to be a jerk a month ago. He has had a history of accusations and lawsuits accusing him of disgusting behavior. The reality is, this is the first time he got caught outright.
But how do we know there aren’t other owners in the league harboring the same kind of feelings, with the benefit of not getting caught? This is the root of Cuban’s point: the NBA has 30 owners. We only know the personal feelings of one of them. Are we to take the man’s team away when it is quite possible that others exist with the same feelings, but have done a better job of keeping those hostilities quiet?
There is, of course, one area in which Cuban vastly under-sold our society: he didn’t make any attempt to make things better. Cuban is somewhat famous for this. In his assessment of the NBA, NFL, and race, he always makes very bold statements about the way things are, while rarely venturing to do anything to make things better. Maybe he is trying to inspire others to make a positive change. Maybe he is attempting to shed light on a situation and see where society takes us. In any case, the answer “sometimes we’re all racist” isn’t doing nearly enough to fix the problem.
Throughout the Sterling saga, Mark Cuban has been something of a voice of caution, trying to be the seemingly only rational person involved in the situation. His rationality, though, started to tip-toe past thoughtful and into a scary place that people don’t want to hear. Instead of reacting to the “what” he is saying, it’s time that the NBA and its fans begin to consider how those comments fit within the context of the racial issues facing the league today.
No comments:
Post a Comment