Tired of how government officials handle the discourse with each other and the public, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban continues to contemplate entry into politics and potentially a run for President of the United States in 2024.
“It’s something I’m considering,” Cuban told Sportsnet in a wide-ranging interview that dropped Wednesday.
Cuban insisted if he were to go down that road, it would require the blessing of his wife, Tiffany, and his three children. He had contemplated pursuing public office for this fall’s U.S. presedential election, but said he was “voted down” by the family. Should Cuban vie for the White House, it would not be as a Democrat or Republican.
“As an independent, (it’s) part of me wanting to at least… create a path for future independents because I think it’s something we need. Not a third party in the United States, we’ve got some smaller parties, but just an independent path that’s not driven by party politics,” Cuban said.
Watching and following how politicians on both sides of the aisle have handled themselves during the COVID-19 crisis has made Cuban more vocal. On Tuesday he tweeted: “There is not a single person in our federal government that we can trust with our lives.” Cuban’s plea is for “old fashioned leadership” and responsibility.
In the Sportsnet interview, Cuban expressed frustration that there is “too much yelling and screaming” among elected officials, rather than action.
“For a while when this first hit, we were in it together,” he said in the @Home conversation. “We looked at Dr. (Anthony) Fauci and Dr. (Deborah) Birx (of the White House coronavirus task force), we saw press (conferences) every day that were illuminating. And then they kind of devolved into, you know, ‘it’s not my fault.’ And it’s not just the President. It’s McConnell and Schumer and Pelosi and McCarthy. There’s nobody that’s not doing it that’s in the public eye.
“And that’s really disappointing. We’re not getting clarity, we’re not getting leadership, we’re not getting candour, we’re not getting honesty, we’re not getting transparency. It doesn’t seem like anybody’s being authentic. It’s just everybody’s looking to place blame and that’s a real problem.”
[snippet id=4888368]
Cuban told CNN last week that he is optimistic the NBA will return this summer for games, in front of no fans and for broadcast only. Nothing has progressed on that front, he told Sportsnet, and doesn’t believe there will be spectators returning to arenas until there is a readily available vaccine.
“Every professional sport has some balance of media income, sponsorship income and gate/attendance income. And all three are impacted significantly by this (virus),” Cuban said. He added that generating the sizeable television dollars should the balance of this NBA season and playoffs be played in front of empty seats is “not a good circumstance for everybody.”
On the basketball side, one of Cuban’s regrets to this day remains not keeping Steve Nash in Dallas – refusing to match the six-year, $63 million deal Phoenix offered him in free agency in 2004. In the Sportsnet conversation he called that “my greatest mistake.”
“In terms of culture, in terms of hard work, he really set Dirk (Nowitzki) on a path,” Cuban said. “During the season, Dirk wouldn’t drink, wouldn’t eat fried foods, wouldn’t eat sweets. Just that disciplined. And I think a lot of that came from Nashy.”
[relatedlinks]
