NBA Orders Cuban’s Mavericks to Play National Anthem Before Games

NBA Orders Cuban’s Mavericks to Play National Anthem Before Games

The National Basketball League said that the national anthem must be played before games — after the Dallas Mavericks, owned by Mark Cuban, did not play it so far this year. 

“This move comes on the heels of the news that the Dallas Mavericks ceased playing the anthem before games this season,” reported CBS Sports. “Dallas has hosted 12 regular-season games so far during the 2020-21 season, along with a single preseason game, and the team didn't play the anthem before any of the contests.”

League -- and Cuban -- on Record

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NBA Chief Communications Officer Mike Bass issued the following statement Wednesday concerning the league’s rule on playing the national anthem:

“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," he said. 

Dallas Mavericks owner Cuban issued the following Wednesday regarding the national anthem:

“We respect and always have respected the passion people have for the anthem and our country. But we also loudly hear the voices of those who feel that the anthem does not represent them. We feel that their voices need to be respected and heard, because they have not been," said Cuban.

"Going forward, our hope is that people will take the same passion they have for this issue and apply the same amount of energy to listen to those who feel differently from them. Only then we can move forward and have courageous conversations that move this country forward and find what unites us," he added. 

The absence of the anthem being played by the Mavericks was only first reported this week. 

“The takeaway from Mark Cuban’s decision to no longer allow the National Anthem to be played before Dallas Mavericks games is this: Nobody took anything from that decision,” wrote Defector. “The absence of the anthem was noticed the way the anthem itself is noticed at games where it does play. Not at all, at least before The Athletic’s Tim Cato learned of it Monday night.”

Photo: Cuban at Tech Crunch Disrupt 2014