Mark Cuban doing the right thing by halting national anthem at Dallas Mavericks games
The Dallas Mavericks made a decision so significant, and offensive, that it took more than a month for anyone to notice.
Mavs owner Mark Cuban, a personal friend of Controversy, decided that rather than have another national anthem flap, he’s just not going to play the song at all.
Good for Mark.
The Mavs played their first 10 regular season home games without fans. They permitted 1,500 vaccinated front line workers for their game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Feb. 8.
Before then, select media was allowed in to cover the previous 10 home regular-season games, and two preseason games.
I attended the team’s home opener on Dec. 30, and missed the absence of the anthem among the many oddities of watching an NBA game at the American Airlines Center without fans.
The truth is all of our hawk eyes did. Blame COVID.
It was not until Feb. 9 when Cuban confirmed to a Mavs beat writer from The Athletic that he is deliberately not playing the anthem before the games.
I sought the opinion of someone whose voice on this carries more weight than most — a former longtime military man.
“I think it’s awesome. It’s absolutely amazing,” said retired Army Staff Sgt. Thomas Wilson in a phone interview on Tuesday night.
This is an idea whose time has come. More owners, teams and leagues should follow this plan.
We don’t need to eliminate the national anthem from every sporting event, but the frequency has diluted the impact of standing at attention.
Wilson’s brother, Terry, is also an Army vet who is currently a grad student at SMU. Terry told me to talk to Thomas.
Thomas Wilson served for 13 years, did three tours in the Middle East, and also worked as an Army recruiter before he retired.
“A lot of people will see it as not being patriotic. It’s forced patriotism,” Thomas Wilson said. “I see all of these people saying they are patriotic, and they have yellow ribbons on their truck. That’s great. Then when I ask for their son to join [the military], they’re not that patriotic.”
The NBA has a policy that its players must stand for the national anthem, but commissioner Adam Silver has deliberately ignored enforcing it.
Led by Silver, and Cuban, the league supported the NBA players who wanted to kneel during the national anthem last summer to raise awareness for societal inequalities or racial injustices following the season re-start in the bubble.
This season, however, the “issue” has been a non-factor. Guys aren’t doing it. Or people no longer notice if they do.
A controversial trend started by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2016 to raise awareness about what he felt was unfair treatment of Black Americans by police morphed into a political statement about “the flag” and patriotism
“I went to a Rangers game with my brother and we’re standing there [for the anthem] and it felt stupid,” Thomas Wilson said. “It feels like a cult, everyone standing up. The freedom doesn’t stop if we don’t raise the flag. I know that sounds unpatriotic. We know we’re in America. We didn’t forget that. I served for 13 years.”
There is no need to just abolish the anthem before every game. There is also no need to play it before every game.
“The World Series. Super Bowl. The Daytona 500,” Thomas Wilson said. “The big, big events. That feels right to me.”
He added, “Most military members when they hear the national anthem are thinking, ‘Oh, God, I have to stand here again.’ It was drilled into us at boot camp. We had to do it every time. I love my country, but doing this is so mundane. Every single person is like, ‘Yep. It’s over. Now we can move around again.’”
For the record, I’m all for standing at attention for the national anthem when it’s played. As much as I may not like Kaepernick taking a knee during the anthem, I would be the worst type of hypocrite if I didn’t fiercely advocate his right to do it.
That’s the contract of being an American.
I’m also in favor of reducing the number of times we play the national anthem at sporting events, to restore its power when we do hear it.
Cuban and the Mavs haven’t announced if this no-anthem policy is permanent, or this is just a temporary thing made easier because no fans are attending.
Mark Cuban knows what he’s done, and what he potentially stepped in.
Of course, we were all so offended by it that it took more than a month for anyone to notice.
This story was originally published February 9, 2021 at 11:41 PM.
