Mark Cuban: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 11:53, 2 May 2007

Revision as of 11:59, 2 May 2007

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On [[January 14]], [[2000]], Cuban purchased a majority stake in the [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] [[Dallas Mavericks]] basketball team for $285 million from [[H. Ross Perot, Jr.]]<ref>[http://alumni.indiana.edu/magazine/200411/cuban.html Cuban, unembargoed]</ref> A press release was issued on [[January 20]], [[1999-2000 NBA season|2000]].<ref>[http://www.nba.com/mavericks/news/sale_press_conference000120.html NBA press release]</ref>

Cuban has played a role in developing the Mavericks to NBA championship contenders. His decisions have been the source of media attention and controversy. In the face of such attention, the Mavericks have experienced a turnaround and resurgence of the franchise.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/07/AR2006060702410.html The NBA's True Maverick]</ref> Unlike most owners who play more passive roles and watch basketball games from skyboxes, Cuban sits alongside fans in the crowd and wears team jerseys.<ref>[http://www.creatingcustomerevangelists.com/resources/evangelists/mark_cuban.asp Worst to first: How Mark Cuban engineered a team's monumental turnaround]</ref> Cuban is known for flying his private [[fixed-wing aircraft|airplane]], ana [[Gulfstream Aerospace]] [[Gulfstream V]] to attend away games and for wearing Mavericks T-shirts and jerseys at games both at home and on the road. Kevin Ding of the [[Orange County Register]] said "He made the ultimate fan fantasy come true by buying and running a professional sports franchise and has been astoundingly good at it."<ref>[http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/sports/atoz/article_998115.php All fun and games for Cuban]</ref>

He has been fined by the NBA, mostly for critical statements about the league and referees, at least $1,665,000 for 13 incidents.<ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/story?id=2098577&page=1 ABCnews: Cuban Slammed with $250,000 Fine]</ref> In a June 30, 2006 interview, Mavericks player Dirk Nowitzki said about Cuban,<ref name="NowitzkiCriticism">{{cite news |first = Eddie|last = Sefko|url = http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/basketball/mavs/stories/070106dnspomavslede.c1dd04.html|title = Dirk to Cuban: Chill out|publisher = The Dallas Morning News|date = [[2006-07-01]]|accessdate = 2006-07-04}}</ref>{{cquote|He's got to learn how to control himself as well as the players do. We can't lose our temper all the time on the court or off the court, and I think he's got to learn that, too. He's got to improve in that area and not yell at the officials the whole game. I don't think that helps us.... He sits right there by our bench. I think it's a bit much. But we all told him this before. It's nothing new. The game starts, and he's already yelling at them. So he needs to know how to control himself a little.}}