Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said on Tuesday that he had decided not to play the national anthem for the team’s home games before the season.
The Mavericks played their first 10 home games of the regular season at the American Airlines Center without fans. The club first had fans in Monday’s 127-122 win over Minnesota. Dallas allows 1,500 vaccinated essential workers to attend free games.
Cuban did not elaborate on his decision not to play the national anthem, saying that no one noticed. The Athletic was the first to report that Dallas dropped the national anthem.
NBA spokesman Tim Frank said, “This season’s unique conditions allow teams to conduct their pregame operations as they see fit.”
Was Cuban spoken out against critics of NBA players and coaches kneeling during “The Star-Spangled Banner” when the 2019-20 season resumed last summer in the Florida bubble.
According to The Athletic, “Cuban said in July that he would kneel with players during the national anthem. He also tweeted,” The national anthem police in this country are out of control. boss and ask why they don’t play the national anthem every day before you go to work. ”
The pre-game anthem is a staple of American sports at both the professional and collegiate levels, but is much less common at professional sporting events in other countries.