Cuban later appeared on ESPN to explain the issue, saying he made the decision after speaking with his players and community members.

"We're always talking to our community. That's something [Mavericks CEO Cynthia Marshall] stands for and is very insistent upon and has become a core part of who we are at the Dallas Mavericks. In listening to the community, there were quite a few people who voiced their concerns, really their fears that the national anthem did not fully represent them, that their voices were not being heard," Cuban told ESPN host Rachel Nichols.

"So we've had a lot of conversations about whether or not we should play the anthem. And so during the first preseason game, we decided to not play it and just see what the response was, knowing that we were going to have ongoing conversations about it," he added.

"We didn't make any decision to never play the national anthem then — that wasn't the case at all. We didn't cancel the national anthem. We still had our flag flying proud up on the wall at the American Airlines Center and everybody had the opportunity to address it and pray to it or salute to it or whatever their feelings are," he said.

Cuban also noted that they planned to discuss the issue further once fans returned to the arena but did not think it was a final decision not to play the song when there were no fans in the stands.

"There was never any final decision that was made that we would not play the anthem," Cuban said.

As ESPN noted, the story caused such a ruckus in certain circles that White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was even asked about President Joe Biden's stance on it.

Psaki, like Cuban, tried to walk a fine line between expressing support for playing the anthem, while also acknowledging why some people, particularly Black people, may not be interested hearing it.

"I know he's incredibly proud to be an American and has great respect for the anthem and all that it represents. He'd also say, of course, that part of pride in our country means recognizing where we as a country haven't lived up to our highest ideals," Psaki said.

Republican lawmakers have already seized on the story, bashing Cuban and the team for even considering not playing the anthem. The Republican Lt. Governor of Texas Dan Patrick demanded Cuban sell the team so "some Texas Patriots will buy it.''

Patrick also threatened to pass a law mandating that the national anthem is played before all major events. Other Republican lawmakers sought to penalize the team and the arena by potentially removing tax breaks and incentives given to the arena.

The Texas Tribune reported that Patrick would actually file the "Star Spangled Banner Protection Act" making it mandatory for the song to be played.

When pressed by Nichols about the way Republicans were responding to the issue, Cuban did not back down, saying that in his discussions with community members, he heard from multiple people who felt like after the protests this summer, not enough changed.

"When you try to do things that are hard, it's never going to be easy. When you create social change, it's never going to be easy. We saw that all summer long. We listen to people; there were a lot of people who tried to stand up for what they believe in and weren't really heard," he said.

"These are difficult conversations that are not going to go away, whether or not we play the national anthem. We're just glad we're having this conversation out of choice, not because of some tragedy that ignited the conversation," he added.

In an op-ed for Yahoo Sports, reporter and columnist Vincent Goodwill put the controversy succinctly, criticizing the NBA and Silver for failing to seize the moment and for bending to the will of people who aren't "paying him much mind right now, a treasonous crowd that drapes its betrayal in a flag, assigning a value that is only as valuable as those in power allow it to have."

"The racial reckoning that opened eyes around the country, buoyed by the nation’s most prominent Black Americans — NBA players — has come and gone. The lyrics, the problematic subsequent verses we never hear about, don’t have Black people in mind. The same Black people who create the revenue for themselves and other rich folks to get richer from," Goodwill wrote.

"It’s Black fans, the Black players, who only matter so much in the pursuit of more money and approval of the racists who’ll never give it. Maybe [Silver] knows deep down this country will never live up to the ideals it purports itself to be with its relation to Black people. Maybe that’s the case because people like him keep giving country to those who fail to see Black folks as equal," he added.

Mark Cuban

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