Mark Cuban doesn’t get bloggers

mark cuban Desperate times require desperate measures.

That’s the mantra Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks pro hoops team, lives by these days as his team slides further down the NBA’s Western Conference standings.

The volatile owner and tech entrepreneur, perhaps sensing another lost season, recently decided to ban a blogger named Tim McMahon from the club’s locker room after he criticized Mavs coach Avery Johnson.

The post contained criticisms of Johnson for his decision to leave newly-acquired point guard Jason Kidd on the bench for the final 34 seconds of a Mavs-Spurs barnburner that the Spurs eventually won and correctly points out that Johnson was the coach in charge during two of the biggest playoff failures in NBA history.

One week after McMahon wrote the post, the Mavs banned bloggers from the locker room. According to McMahon, he was the only blogger granted access to the club’s locker room.

Predictably, Cuban said the team couldn’t accommodate McMahon any longer. The team’s weak response was something along the lines of ’sorry Tim there’s just not enough space for everyone.’ Here’s Cuban’s response to McMahon’s query about the new policy:

“We have to set limits somewhere, right? Should every blogger be allowed in? And when there are 25 of them, how do we decide who gets in or not? If they need access to a player, they can get an interview. It just won’t happen in a locker room.”

What about the timing of the new policy Mark? Odd that it came a week after McMahon’s post - no?

Clearly, Cuban and the club are trying to show McMahon who’s boss. Fall out of line and you’ll get smacked down - that seems to be message the Mavs sent McMahon and fellow reporters and bloggers. It’s a backwards and petty way to deal with critics for the following reasons:

1) It brings undue media and blogosphere attention to McMahon’s (correct) criticisms. Before today, I didn’t know the name Tim McMahon nor had I ever read his blog or the Dallas Morning News.

2) The move shows how thin-skinned Mark Cuban and the Mavs are these days - not exactly a reason to feel confident if you’re a Dallas Mavericks fan as the playoffs approacheth.

3) Cuban could’ve used the blogosphere to defend his coach’s strange decision to bench Kidd in the game against the Spurs - he could’ve also used the opportunity to defend his coach’s playoff record too. Instead, he chose the easy defensive route.

ESPN.com reader Joshua Wells may have put it best:  “If this were the 1950’s, Mark would be keeping out TV reporters because only newspaper writers are real reporters, and a TV Personality is a TV Personality is a TV Personality.”

Cuban was a breath of fresh air for the NBA when he took over the Mavericks last decade. If he continues to pull blogger ban stunts, he’ll begin to alienate fans - that is he hasn’t already.

He should focus on his team’s performance and ignore the criticisms. Win a championship and all those nasty words will disappear.

March 11, 2008 | Filed Under News Items and Commentary 

Comments

3 Responses to “Mark Cuban doesn’t get bloggers”

  1. RT on March 12th, 2008 12:12 pm

    But isn’t Cuban a noted blogger himself? With that in mind this seems very reactionary.

  2. Kevin Restivo on March 12th, 2008 3:32 pm

    That is an excellent point; one i should’ve made myself.
    Nonetheless, Cuban has always been hypocritical and somewhat paranoid for that matter.

    KR

  3. Kevin Restivo’s Tech Blog » Blog Archive » Bloggers back in Mavs locker room; well, sort of. on March 30th, 2008 11:00 pm

    […] recall the Dallas Morning News columnist wrote a post critical of embattled head coach Avery Johnson which presumably drew the ire of […]

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