Mark Cuban’s anthem decision ‘more divisive’ than Capitol riots, Texas Lt. Gov. says

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick likened the Dallas Mavericks not playing the Star-Spangled Banner to the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol, calling the decision by the NBA team’s owner Mark Cuban “even more divisive.”

The Athletic reported Tuesday night that the team did not play the national anthem for the first 13 games this season before Wednesday. That decision has since been reversed, according to a Mavericks spokesperson.

But before the switch was made, Patrick railed against the move in an interview with conservative talk radio host Mark Davis. He compared the national anthem not playing to the Black Lives Matters protests of 2020 and the riot led by Trump supporters earlier this year.

“This … to me is just as egregious in its own way as those who took to the streets last summer to try and tear down America, to those that took on our Capitol and tried to tear down our Capitol and attack the police,” Patrick said on the show Wednesday morning.

“They didn’t stand for the 75 million Trump supporters that I know. This is egregious in its own right, because as divisive as those two acts were, this is even more divisive. Because this is someone who has lived the American dream.”

Patrick described Cuban’s rise to becoming a successful businessman and described the national anthem as something that brings people together regardless of politics. Many athletes kneel during the anthem to protest police brutality and racial injustice.

A Mavericks spokesperson declined to comment when asked for Cuban’s thoughts.

Later in the interview, Davis questioned Patrick’s comparison.

“The difference I might draw between this and rioters in the street, is they intend to display their hatred of America, they intended to show their hostility toward this great country, and that’s not Cuban and never will be,” Davis said. “What he’s doing is overthinking ...”

Patrick cut in: “I think this is pretty hostile.”

After more discussion between the two, Patrick added: “We’ve gone from, this started with kneeling four years ago or so with (Colin) Kaepernick, to more kneeling, to what happened next, ‘Well we just wont come out on the field.’ We don’t see it on television anymore, and now we’re not playing it anymore. … What’s the next step?”

The Mavericks and NBA later said the anthem will be played at games. Cuban on Wednesday in a statement said “we respect and always have respected the passion people have for the anthem and our country.”

“But we also loudly hear the voices of those who feel that the anthem does not represent them,” Cuban said. “We feel that their voices need to be respected and heard, because they have not been. Going forward, our hope is that people will take the same passion they have for this issue and apply the same amount of energy to listen to those who feel differently from them. Only then we can move forward and have courageous conversations that move this country forward and find what unites us.”

Patrick announced Wednesday that one of his legislative priorities is requiring The Star-Spangled Banner be played at all events that receive public funding.