Former Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban weighed in as the NBA braced for a seismic decision in 2014. At the time, Commissioner Adam Silver was preparing to rule on Donald Sterling’s future after the longtime Los Angeles Clippers owner was caught on tape making alleged racist remarks.
Multiple basketball legends, including LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson, publicly demanded Sterling’s removal. Yet amid the outrage, Cuban offered a strikingly different perspective.
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Cuban addressed Sterling’s tape fallout
Cuban is one of the most outspoken figures in basketball during the 21st century. Whatever the issue, the 67-year-old rarely stays silent, so it was no surprise that he spoke up as Sterling’s name dominated headlines. What surprised many, however, was the substance of Cuban’s stance.
This especially rings true because, for much of the public, the case seemed clear-cut. Audio clips had surfaced of Sterling speaking to his then-girlfriend, V. Stiviano, in derogatory terms about Black people — so derogatory that neither public scrutiny nor league discipline could simply turn a blind eye.
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“Do you know that you have a whole team that’s Black, that plays for you?” Stiviano asks in one recording. Sterlingreplies, “Do I know? I support them and give them food and clothes and cars and houses.”
In another, arguably more controversial, clip, he fumes about Stiviano posting photos online with Black Los Angeles Lakers icon Johnson, telling her not to do that and definitely not to bring him to Clippers games, the team he had purchased in 1981.
A foolish misstep or plain racism?
Cuban called the remarks “wrong and abhorrent” during the 2014 NBA playoffs — an assessment that might have quickly ended his connection to the matter, if he hadn’t also backed his fellow NBA franchise owner.
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“In terms of just saying a blanket ‘let’s kick him out’? I don’t want to go that far,” Cuban said, shaking his head.
The former tech entrepreneur explained his stance by pointing out that people “in this country” still had the freedom to say what they wanted in private settings.
“People are allowed to be morons,” he said. “They’re allowed to be stupid. They’re allowed to think idiotic thoughts.”
For Cuban, the issue was not excusing Sterling’s words but safeguarding the process — one he said an organization like the NBA, with Silver at the helm, would handle within its framework rather than setting a precedent based on public anger.
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“I think Adam [Silver] will be smart and deal with Donald [Sterling] to the full extent available to him,” Mark added.
Ultimately, the then-Mavs boss emphasized that it wasn’t about Sterling as a person or his position in the NBA, but about who would come next, stressing that said fair process was essential not just now, but for the league’s future.
Cuban was right to note the dangers of rushed judgments, which seem especially heightened in the social media era, where opinions spread quickly and without consequence.
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What was more debatable, however, was that Cuban framed Sterling’s remarks as “stupid” or “idiotic,” rather than acknowledging, as many saw it, their racist nature. Arguably, that categorization trivialized the seriousness of the issue, for which Sterling was later banned from the NBA for life and fined $2.5 million.
In a sense of déjà vu, Cuban recently backed another NBA franchise owner — Sterling’s successor with the Clippers, Steve Ballmer.
Ballmer’s alleged misconduct, as revealed by journalist Pablo Torre, seems clear-cut, just like Sterling’s in the beginning. However, Cuban again refrained from simply going along with public judgment. Almost defiantly, the former Mavs majority owner has defended Ballmer amid the backlash, raising questions about his true connection to the matter.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 16, 2025, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.