Billionaire mogul Mark Cuban should remember to just stay in his lane and stay out of politics.
Cuban is openly a Democrat and supported Hillary Clinton in 2016 and has been one to bash President Trump on occasion.
The man has had plenty to say about his views on America. Perhaps none so loud, however, as banning the national anthem from being played at Dallas Mavericks games. (A bonehead move he put into place in February).
To the surprise of absolutely no one – well, aside from perhaps Mark Cuban and his ilk – Texas did not take this lying down.
Last week, the right side of things passed a law that would require him to play the national anthem.
The Star-Spangled Banner Protection Act, or Senate Bill 4, was made a priority by the Lieutenant Governor of Texas after Cuban ‘canceled’ the anthem for a whopping 13 games. The Lt. Governor, Dan Patrick went on to say “Sell the franchise & some Texas Patriots will buy it. We ARE the land of free & home of the brave”.
Violation of the bill – which just needs to be signed by Greg Abbott – would mean that teams lose both their business relationships with Texas as well as team funding if and when they choose to not play the anthem.
ABC reported,
In a public response to the outcry condemning his decision, Cuban expressed support for the anthem, but he said team executives “also loudly hear the voices of those who feel that the anthem does not represent them.” The NBA later said all teams would play the anthem before games.
During Monday’s debate on the House floor, opponents questioned the constitutionality of a law that they said ties funding to free speech by threatening negative action against sports teams that choose to express their opinions by declining to play the anthem.
“Once again, we’re carrying legislation that is openly and aggressively unconstitutional,” said state Rep. Gene Wu, a Houston Democrat who unsuccessfully tried to turn the bill into a resolution, allowing the House to take a stand in favor of the anthem without the force of law.