Should we really be listening to Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban when he speaks on the stuff that leaders are made of? Mr. Cuban forfeited his credibility on this subject in 2018 when he was forced by the NBA to pay $10 million to women's leadership and domestic violence organizations. Why? Because he permitted a culture of sexual harassment in the team's front office. Nevertheless, Cuban appeared on Sean Hannity's Fox News Channel program Wednesday and belittled President Trump's leadership performance on the COVID-19 pandemic.
As Sarah Valenzuela detailed in a New York Daily News sports story Thursday, Cuban had appeared to discuss re-starting the league, "but Cuban took advantage of the platform to bash Trump’s leadership during the coronavirus crisis":
"[Trump] deserves a lot of credit for what happened with the economy, but those days are behind us now. He can’t be playing the victim all [the time].
“This is what really bothers me about the president. He’s the most powerful man in the world and he always plays the victim card; ‘The Dems are out to get me,’ ‘the media is out to get me.' You gotta be the leader, you gotta be the strongest man in the game. Be a leader, set an example. The man has got to be a leader and he hasn’t shown that yet.”
This is the NBA team owner who ignored victims of sexual harassment in his office for years without firing the offender. He did not face personal accusations of misconduct, but the investigation revealed his supervision was severely lacking. That's handling a crisis. In the wrong way.
Hannity began the segment by suggesting a plan for the NBA to resume the season. Cuban said he was on the right track, and said the league should not include fans initially. Hannity moved the subject to the political competition between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden:
HANNITY: "You tell me all the things ‘Bunker Joe’ did on coronavirus that you admire and I’ll tell you what I think Trump did that I admire.”
CUBAN: “Joe’s not really in charge of anything right now, so you can’t put him in that category."
Hannity brought up Trump's allegations that former President Barack Obama "spied" on the Trump transition team, prompting Cuban to reply: "Who cares? He's the most powerful man in the world! Be powerful! Be a leader!"
Cuban continued the attack on Trump, accusing him of being ineffective. "He's supposed to be the world's best counterpuncher. He hasn't been able to knock anybody out. He just plays the victim."
