NBA Pulls Rank, Tells Mark Cuban to Play National Anthem

Wednesday morning, we wrote about Mark Cuban’s decision not to play the national anthem before Dallas Mavericks games.

That is now a thing of the past, as the NBA has pulled rank and shut him down:

The NBA says in a statement that the national anthem will be played by all teams “in keeping with long-standing league policy.” pic.twitter.com/znvBW41lfT

— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) February 10, 2021

Welp. There you go. The national anthem returns to the American Airlines Center. Cuban was shut down by the league.

Edit –

Cuban offered this statement:

Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks will resume playing the Anthem tonight vs. Atlanta. Statement from Cuban, in part: “The hope is that those who feel passionate about the anthem being played will be just as passionate in listening to those who do not feel it represents them.” pic.twitter.com/XnXpd8ThlW

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 10, 2021

Edit 2 – Here’s the Dallas Stars taking a swipe at their neighbors:

We have issued the following statement regarding the National Anthem. pic.twitter.com/7ZR7HXMW73

— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) February 10, 2021