Jason Whitlock, a columnist I like, is calling for David Stern to hit Mark Cuban with a 13-day banishment from NBA arenas, and a season-long ban if it continues. I’ll attempt to sum up his argument as best I can: Cuban’s antics set the tone for fan complaining, which led to things being thrown on the floor in Dallas, David Stern getting booed while handing the trophy to the Heat, and a general sense of discontent among all sports fans at the perception of bad officiating in the Finals.
I don’t even know if David Stern could do this if he wanted to. Mark Cuban owns the Dallas Mavericks, he owns the building where they play their home games, and Stern can keep him out of there? I dunno about that. I don’t think David Stern can anymore ban Cuban from attending Mavs games then he could ban me from dry humping my Maria Sharapova chest pillow.
And why would he want to? I know it might not be the best thing for the NBA to have object hurled onto the floor in Dallas, and it might not be the best thing to have the NBA Finals trophy presentation booed… but these things happened in the NBA before Mark Cuban bought a team, and they’ll continue to happen after he’s gone. Am I to believe the fans wouldn’t have noticed the bad calls if Mark Cuban hadn’t been there to point them out? Come on.
And I don’t even mind Cuban’s bitching. When most of us bitch, we do it just to bitch. But Mark Cuban’s presence may actually lead to better officiating in the NBA. He’s got the time, resources, and desire to keep track of different trends and different officials, and he’ll get it to the NBA and get them to look at it. Whether or not that will someday result in any significant change, I can’t be sure, but at the end of the day, both Mark Cuban and David Stern want better officiating in the NBA. Hell, they both want the NBA to improve in a ton of different ways.
Officiating bitching and incitement not withstanding, even if you agree 100% with Whitlock on those points, let’s think bigger picture. Mark Cuban is absolutely fantastic for the Mavericks, and thus, for the NBA. If he doesn’t buy that team, the Mavericks don’t have a Western Conference championship, they don’t have one of the game’s best young coaches, they probably don’t have nearly as talented a roster, they don’t have the most innovative marketing in the league, they don’t have one of the most passionate fanbases in the league, and the NBA is probably short one excellent team and franchise.
So yeah, I think it would be a pretty bad idea to ban him from arenas. And even if that happened, it’s not like he wouldn’t have a voice anymore. I’m pretty sure he’d find a way to be heard. The only way I’d support an arena ban of Mark Cuban by the NBA would be if he started showing up to games in a speedo and a gold chain. Until then, Mark Cuban is a resource that the league should treasure.
mrmom61
I also like Jasons rants.Even the semi-anual Jeff Goerge should be in the nfl.But I do agree with some of the things the billion doller penis has to say.I also want one of those pillows.
nfl.But we know the billoinare penis will continue to be heard.
June 23, 2006 at 2:26 am
unc_samurai
Can we get a 13-year ban on Whitlock writing articles? And can we get this ban extended to Stephen A. Smith, Jay Mariotti, and Pat Forde?
June 23, 2006 at 9:13 am
john
Didn’t the MLB ban George Steinbrenner and Marge Schott? Didn’t the NFL ban the Debartolos?
June 23, 2006 at 9:52 am
Adam
Stupid idea…Cuban is a great owner. I am sure fans of bad teams wish their owners would spend money like Cuban, and care about winning like Cuban does…just ask Clipper fans, before this past season.
June 23, 2006 at 10:21 am
UC
Whitlock makes a habit of ripping Charles Barkley. Enough said. Dude’s a tool. And grotesquely overweight.
June 23, 2006 at 11:14 am
Drew J
As a Mavs fan, I’ll gladly take the stuff that Cuban says in the media and posts on his blog as long as he keeps trying to win. I’ll take an owner like him all day long over some spare ass rich boy who inherited the team from his dad.
I feel the same way about Jerry Jones. Jerry Jones might be a pompous, silicon injected douche but he also happens to be the best owner in the NFL. Because you always know that he’ll do anything he can to win.
June 23, 2006 at 11:19 am
Your father
I’d like an extended Whitlock ban. He’s the black skip bayless.
June 23, 2006 at 11:43 am
cotton
Though I love both Cuban and Jerry, Cuban’s the better owner because he’s always going to do right by the league. You’d never see Jerry doing things to help, say, Buffalo because things like, say, a salary cap hurt the Pokes. Just look at what side Jerry was on when the owners were clashing during CBA talks this year. That’s not an indictment of Jerry, he’s just protecting his investment, but Cuban seems to subscribe to a different philosophy as an owner.
I really believe that Mark Cuban wants the NBA to succeed in every market, no matter how small because for so many years Dallas was truly awful. Cuban knows what it is to be one of the have-nots of the NBA since he was a season ticket-holder through the 90s. I think David Stern recognizes that he’s got a worthy foil in Mark Cuban, despite the fact that Cuban is tremendously annoying, has made game presentation unbearable for actual basketball fans, and has outfitted the Mavs in ugly uniforms with an overly busy logo.
June 23, 2006 at 12:31 pm
Chris R
I live in KC. I’m absolutely stunned that someone likes Whitlock, actually.
He isn’t a good writer, his knowledge base is limited to one sport (football) and he often is more interested in being a provocateur rather than an analyst. He’s been fired from two local radio stations b/c he was both a diva *and* his show was poorly rated.
Having read him for six years on a bi-weekly basis, he is probably the worst columnist I’ve read — he brings nothing to the table.
June 23, 2006 at 1:06 pm
KoolAid
Cuban is a great owner and I have always liked his spirit but he and the Mavs came off looking like a bunch of whiney losers. I can see wanting to win so bad that it clouds your judgement but after game 5,the Mavs showed NO class (Owner, to coach, to teammates). I lost respect for their organization. They did not deserve to win it.
And about the officials. You cannot complain when the calls go against your team but say nothing when they all go your way. The Spurs series is the prime example of that. Cuban said nothing about the officials but loved how the city of San Antonio conducted themselves (with dignity and class). And that is how the Mavs should have been. I hope Cuban learned something from this (Avery too, because he was an asshole during his post game 5 interveiw) and that the Mavs will come back stronger than ever.
June 23, 2006 at 2:07 pm
fredwilo
Whitlock is a tool. I’m a lifelong Sonics fan and I’d kill to have Cuban as the Sonics’ owner. I’d rather the NBA focus its efforts on finding and training decent officials.
June 23, 2006 at 4:05 pm
Kranium Kracka
As much as Whitlock seems to hate “bigotry”, you’d think he would be calling for Ozzie Guillen’s head…but I guess criticizing sexual orientation = fine; race = bad…i hate whitlock…
June 23, 2006 at 4:37 pm
Kranium Kracka
sorry that was off topic but i really really hate that guy
June 23, 2006 at 4:39 pm
al
The mavericks from their insane owner to their high pitched coach ,, their brick shooting players and annoying whining fans have the dubious distinction of joining the detroit pistons and isaih thomas who walked off the court right past the bulls as the biggest assholes in sports history,, congradulations!!!!!
GO HEAT 305
June 24, 2006 at 1:50 pm
Rhondda Nunes
Uhmmmm….O.K.Whatever, Miami Heat fan.
It seems you could be alittle more gracious in victory; after all, your team won it all.Though I can see how you would like how the officiating went; since your team was the beneficiary.
Young owners like Mark Cuban are a benefit to the sport,as are young coaches such as Avery( despite his grating, nasal-chalkboard voice). David Stern needs to lighten up.
For a fun look Mav & heat fans going at it, see “mavs vs. the heat in the finals:What’s your predictions?”
June 24, 2006 at 7:21 pm