- Mark Cuban has never been shy about sharing his thoughts about the officiating in the NBA.
- Following his team’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers Monday night, the world expected him to go off about the questionable ejection of Kristaps Porzingis.
- Maybe after paying over $3 million in fines over the years, Cuban has finally figured out that silence is golden.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is never one to shy away from sharing his thoughts and opinions about anything. His Twitter feed is evidence of that, as is his list of fines levied by the NBA.
Since buying a majority stake in the franchise back in 2000, he has accumulated over $3 million in fines from the NBA.
As a billionaire, he can certainly afford the high cost of being publicly critical of the NBA’s refs. So, then why was he quiet after that horrendous call that got Kristaps Porzingis ejected Monday night?
Refs Eject Kristaps Porzingis
The dirty deed went down early in the third quarter of Monday night’s game between Cuban’s Mavericks and the Los Angeles Clippers. A minor altercation developed between Luka Doncic and Marcus Morris that Porzingis inserted himself into:
A scrum broke out after this play between Luka and Marcus Morris. pic.twitter.com/41gZIGsGCp
— ESPN (@espn) August 18, 2020
Porzingis didn’t need to get involved. But he didn’t do much, either. However, the refs thought it was enough to warrant a technical foul. Since it was the second tech of the day for Porzingis, the refs ejected him from the game.
The Clippers went on to win the game by eight, 118-110, to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Mark Cuban Had Nothing To Say—But Plenty of People Did
It is probably safe to assume that Cuban chose not to respond to the ejection because he didn’t want to pay a fine. Rich guys don’t become rich guys by throwing away money, after all. But while he was hesitant to comment, plenty of other people were not.
Twitter blew up with fans, media, and other athletes like LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki doing Mark Cuban’s job for him:
No lies told.
Both Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James chime in on Kristaps Porzingis' ejection. #MFFL | #DALvsLAC | @KingJames | @swish41 pic.twitter.com/BH0UipVW3p
— FOX Sports Southwest (@FOXSportsSW) August 18, 2020
When asked about it after the game, Luka Doncic said he appreciated Porzingis and disagreed with the call:
Mavericks’ Luka Doncic on Kristaps Porzingis’s ejection: “KP had my back… Not just me, the whole team appreciated that. I don’t think it was fair to throw him out of the game, especially in the playoffs.” pic.twitter.com/ueMJVnJUaU
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) August 18, 2020
So, why the silence on Cuban’s end?
Maybe it is because the NBA finally figured out how to get him to be quiet. Rather than just fine him $50,000, which he probably has just laying around the house, they’ve been hitting him hard.
Back in March, Cuban went on a Twitter tirade following a questionable loss to the Atlanta Hawks. The NBA hit him with a $500,000 fine.
Before that fine, his last one came back in February 2018 when he made comments the NBA didn’t like (he admitted the team was tanking) on a podcast with Julius Irving. That one cost him $600K.
So, is Mark Cuban getting soft in his old age? Not at all, just more fiscally responsible.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of CCN.com.