Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban probably won’t hear the apology he demanded of Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green after Green took issue with some terminology in the sports world.
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Green questioned the use of the word “owner” to describe team owners following controversial statements made by the Houston Texans’ Bob McNair. McNair reportedly told his fellow team owners “we can’t have the inmates running the prison,” sparking protests.
“Inmates? For starters, let’s stop using the word owner and maybe use the word Chairman,” Green wrote in an Instagram post. “To be owned by someone just sets a bad precedent to start. It sets the wrong tone. It gives one the wrong mindset. Webster states that an inmate is a person confined to an institution such as a prison or hospital. Not sure these tax paying men should be referred to as inmates- but what do I know?”
Cuban said that McNair’s statement was “wrong, ridiculous” while speaking with ESPN. He also criticized Green’s comments, arguing that they “make it seem like we don’t do everything possible to help our players succeed and don’t care about their families and don’t care about their lives.”
“For him to try to turn it into something it’s not is wrong,” Cuban said of Green. “He owes the NBA an apology. I think he does, because to try to create some connotation that owning equity in a company that you busted your ass for is the equivalent of ownership in terms of people, that’s just wrong. That’s just wrong in every which way.”
Cuban went on to ask what Green would call himself if he owned a company, speaking to Green’s ambitions to invest in Silicon Valley companies.
“We own equity. We don’t own people,” he added.
National Basketball Players Association Vice President Andre Iguodola said that he understood “both sides.” Cuban has done “a great job of carrying that position with integrity, with respect, with equality to everyone who’s involved with his organization,” Iguodola said. “He’s not able to understand what it’s like to be an African-American and certain terms being thrown around and how we feel about them.”
Green later said that he was aware of Cuban’s comments. He had no further comments.
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