Billionaire owner of Dallas Mavericks shaking up team, NBA

Posted 3:40PM on Monday 14th January 2002 ( 23 years ago )

DALLAS - Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks, just can't help himself when it comes to critiquing and criticizing NBA officials. Cuban's commentary has led to eight fines from commissioner David Stern, costing him $1,005,000 in the 105 weeks since making the leap from season-ticket holder to team owner. Nearly half his fine tally -- $500,000 -- came last week for saying he wouldn't hire the league's head of referees "to manage a Dairy Queen." It's the most the league has ever fined anyone, doubling the record he set last season for similarly salty remarks about the refs. Players, coaches and owners in every sport always feel wronged by officials, yet it's rare for anyone to turn their anger into a crusade the way Cuban has. He's even hired people to monitor referees' performances so he can back his insults with information. Cuban considers the fines simply a cost of doing business. "Always remember: A) I didn't pick the amount, and B) I didn't publicize it," said Cuban, who matches every dollar of fines with donations to charities. "If the NBA's bottom line was purely punishment, all they had to do was not put out a press release. Maybe they think it's good publicity. I don't know." That's what Cuban thought of his first few fines. They drew attention to the team, which was in the process of making the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. The latest fine has taken on a life of its own, thanks to Dairy Queen executives. "Mr. Cuban may be surprised to find out how much it takes to manage a Dairy Queen," the Minnesota-based fast-food chain said in a news release. "We invite Mr. Cuban in to manage a Dairy Queen for a day." Love to, said Cuban, who wore a DQ T-shirt to Saturday night's game. He and the company are arranging the time and place he'll be behind the counter, whipping up Blizzards and asking customers if they want fries with their Hungr-Buster burger. "I wasn't disparaging Dairy Queen at all. I was trying to protect them," he said. "I wouldn't hire him and I was getting the word out publicly just in case he ever applied for the job -- and, hopefully, he'll need to at some point." The maverick owner of the Mavericks bought his way into the NBA in January 2000 after making more than $1 billion when Yahoo! bought Broadcast.com, the company Cuban and a friend started so they could listen to radio broadcasts of Indiana University basketball games via the Internet. Cuban, 43, began going to Mavs games when he moved to Dallas in the early 1980s and remained loyal through the '90s, when they compiled the decade's worst record for any team in the four major pro sports. His first season tickets were in the upper deck. By the time he bought the team, he'd moved down to courtside seats, next to the team's bench. Players knew his face -- and, certainly, his voice -- but not his name. Imagine the shock when they were introduced to their new boss and in walked the loudmouth fan from the front row wearing his customary business attire of jeans and a T-shirt. Cuban quickly lavished the players with fluffier towels and robes, comfier courtside seats, healthier postgame meals and bigger hotel beds. He's loaded their lockers with top-of-the-line electronic equipment and bought a new team plane that features a weight room. He attends almost every practice and game to personally monitor what else is needed, although he defers all basketball-related decisions to coach-general manager Don Nelson, who has the third-most wins in NBA history. Cuban let Nelson assemble one of the league's highest payrolls and encouraged him to hire enough assistant coaches for players to have individual attention, a radical concept in the NBA. "I don't know how tangible it is, but I think somewhere along the line there must be a trickle-down effect," point guard Steve Nash said. "More than the material support, it's his emotional commitment to the team. How much he wants to win affects everyone." Fans consider Cuban one of them, only richer. He encourages their input, flashing his e-mail address on the scoreboard during games and providing a link to it on the team's Web site. He spends an estimated three hours a day reading and responding to messages, ignoring such things as trade ideas but immediately addressing concerns such as gum on seats and strobe lights aimed at a fan's eyes. Love him or loathe him, it's hard to argue with the results. The Mavericks won 53 games his first full season and reached the second round of the playoffs. They're off to a better start this season. "I was a fan back when the Mavericks couldn't win a game, then he came along and made a difference," Reta ImBoden of Mineral Wells said Thursday night during Dallas' 111-89 victory over the New York Knicks. "He brings a spirit to the game the Dallas Mavericks never felt before. These guys are playing with their hearts and I think Mark Cuban has a lot to do with it." ImBoden waved two signs flashing her support of Cuban in his ongoing battle with the league office. "They're singling him out," she said. In addition to the ref-baiting, Cuban also has been fined for watching a game while seated on the court floor instead of a chair and running onto the court to break up a fight caused by a promotion for free chalupas. "He says some things he might regret later, or that he shouldn't say, but that's just him," forward Dirk Nowitzki said. "He's our No. 1 fan. He's got our back, no matter what happens. It's great to work for him."

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