Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said, if any Dallas players kneel during the national anthem, he hopes to join them.
That led to an argument with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz over Twitter:
Really??!?
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 20, 2020
NBA is telling everyone who stands for the flag, who honors our cops and our veterans, to “piss off”? In Texas, no less?
Good luck with that. pic.twitter.com/AVWLMZIqu0
Have some balls for once @tedcruz. Speak to me. It's my tweet. https://t.co/QGza2qWoRR
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) July 20, 2020
Speaking of balls, tell us what you think about China.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 20, 2020
I’ll wait. https://t.co/s68JYk9MLR
Still no answer from @mcuban
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 20, 2020
Let’s try simpler. Mark, tough guy, can you say “Free Hong Kong”?
Can your players put that on their jerseys?
Can you condemn the CCP’s concentration camps w/ 1 million Uyghurs?
Can you say ANYTHING other than “Chairman Mao is beautiful & wise”? https://t.co/0XpLRaFSw2
I can say Black Lives Matter. I can say there is systemic racism in this country. I can say there is a Pandemic that you have done little to end. I can say I care about this country first and last and.. https://t.co/URFs41XloY
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) July 20, 2020
Why is it, @tedcruz, that you take such pride in standing up to and speaking truth to the Chinese, but you have no ability to stand up to and speak the truth to @realdonaldtrump ?
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) July 20, 2020
I agree Black Lives Matter.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 20, 2020
I agree there is a pandemic & we have taken extraordinary steps to defeat it.
Where did that pandemic originate?
Why did Communist China COVER UP the Wuhan outbreak & arrest whistle-blowers?
And why are you terrified to say ONE WORD about China? https://t.co/Tfj2tZnmCP
Cruz is right: China’s authoritarianism should be denounced. Cuban and Cruz are right: Black Lives Matter.
Yet, instead of supporting each other’s commitment to freedom, Cuban and Cruz are mostly talking past each other and grandstanding.
Cruz’s national-anthem claim is particularly off-putting. Kneeling during the national anthem is a patriotic gesture that has brought attention to racism, particularly through police brutality. It is not about disrespecting veterans.
The NBA has become a punching bag for senators critical of China. Some of that is fair after how the league handled Daryl Morey tweeting support for Hong Kong protesters. But the United States – not just the NBA or Cuban – is deeply entangled with China economically. If senators care about that, they have power to do more effective things than shaming American private businesses and citizens.
