Mavs Mark Cuban Donates $100k to NABJ Covid-19 Relief Fund in Honor of Roger B. Brown and Martin McNeal
Shut up and dribble. That’s how future Hall of Famer basketball player Lebron James was scolded for talking politics in 2018. But no one’s dared to say the same to Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban who’s emerged as the NBA’s leading voices, addressing non-dribbling topics from economic and social justice to racial issues that have arisen during COVID-19.
It all started the night the NBA stopped on March 11. The Mavericks were playing the Denver Nuggets in a nationally televised ESPN game. During the third quarter, Cuban received news the NBA was suspending the season via the team’s public relations rep. It was announced later that night after the Utah Jazz-Oklahoma City Thunder game was canceled, that big man Rudy Gobert had tested positive for the Coronavirus.
Since then, Cuban’s had the national mic, addressing tough political issues and spending money to help his own employees as well as various organizations through the crisis. He’s been interviewed by numerous outlets, such as ESPN, Fox News, ABC, and The Dallas Morning News, to name a few, discussing concerns about COVID-19 and the return to the NBA season. Cuban acknowledged the desire for the season to continue, but only when it is safe to do so for players and the fans. When the government quickly passed multi-billion-dollar bailouts for business owners, Cuban publicly voiced his opposition to any NBA organizations taking money or repurchasing company dumped stocks while so many Americans were suffering economic devastation.
Next, Cuban refused to remain silent on non-dribbling race and social justice issues as Americans erupted into protests after the violent shooting deaths of African-American jogger Ahmad Arbery and the sleeping Breonna Taylor. Less than a month later, the world exploded into protests from Sweden to South Africa after the public death of George Floyd beneath the knee of a police officer. Floyd’s death raised many voices to put an end to police brutality, and Cuban was no exception.
On June 9, Cuban, along with other members of the Mavericks organization, hosted a panel to discuss the issue of race and social injustice in the community, entitled “Courageous Conversation.” Cuban was bold and argued white people must have uncomfortable conversations regarding race.
“I need all of us to really open up and talk to each other, even when it’s difficult,” Cuban said during his brief speech at the beginning of the event. “Even when it’s not something we’re comfortable with, particularly those of you who look like me, the white people. Because it’s hard to discuss race when you’re white, the reality is, to be brutally honest, when people talk about white privilege, we get defensive. We all have this mechanism that I call manufactured equivalency to try to protect ourselves.”
Unapologetically frank, Cuban continued to articulate the difficulties in discussing racial issues among whites. “We’ll say, ‘I have a lot of black friends.’ We’ll say, ‘I grew up in a mixed community, so I’m not like that.’ I can’t possibly be someone who takes advantage of white privilege and manufacture this equivalency. It’s incumbent on us to stop doing that because that doesn’t move us forward when we do that. That’s part of having a courageous conversation.”
Continuing to support non-dribbling causes during the pandemic, the Dallas Mavericks Owner donated $100k to the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Covid-19 Relief Fund, according to CNBC’s Jabari Young. The fund was started by NABJ to assist both sports and non-sports journalists whose jobs were affected due to COVID-19.
Per Young, Cuban’s donation was inspired by sportswriters, Roger B. Brown and Martin McNeal, “two legends in the business that I had the pleasure of working with via the Mavs,” he said. “I asked [lMavericks.com writer] Dwain Price what he thought of the idea, which he was very, very supportive of, so I went ahead with it,” Cuban said.
Brown was the full-time black sportswriter and columnist at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, he passed away on May 18. McNeal was a credential media member of the Mavericks before taking a job with Sacramento Bee. He passed away on May 21.
Refusing to shut up and dribble, the billionaire social justice advocate led his players in a vigil with the community outside Dallas Police headquarters to protest against police brutality and racial injustice toward African-Americans. Cuban pledged to take continued actions to help better the community.
