Referees assert NBA is allowing Mark Cuban to wield power over them 'via threats and intimidation'

Cuban's a crafty guy- how many people know the owners of their NBA team? Or of another one? But everybody knows Mark Cuban, and he comes off as a normal guy (despite being rich). He can incite fans to dislike the refs even more, whereas someone like Les Alexander can't- because nobody knows who the hell he is outside of business circles and Rocket fans

 

Ironic considering he endorsed HIllary.

 

Les needs to hire a personal PR team. He needs to spread his brand.

 

Why?

 

Misleading OP, the article mentions nothing about bribes.

Real TLDR;

The NBRA (Referees Association) is upset because cuban uses foul language towards officials and "mocks" the fines by paying double the amount to charity. They think the NBA isn't strict enough with him and he is setting a bad precedent for owner behavior in the league.

Cuban responds by saying that the problem is that you can't have former referees managing current referees. He thinks a senior ref does not automatically make a good manager.

Opinion : Overall, it looks like the NBRA leaked these memos to pressure the NBA into more severe sanctions if owners use derogatory language towards them.

 

God I hate Cuban. He got too damn involved in our election process and its now confirmed what we all suspected about his influence in the NBA and officiating.

What is shocking to me is how the rest of the NBA ownership hasn't reigned this douche in earlier. What cowards they are to let him run roughshod over the officials and threatening the integrity of the league.

Bravo to Woj for writing this and getting it out in the open.

 

Cuban's response to this is pretty brilliant - especially the first line:

“To suggest I have influence is to suggest that the NBA officials can be influenced,” Cuban told The Vertical in an email. “If an official can be influenced by pressure from anyone, they should not be in the NBA. I don’t believe they can be influenced. As far as my influence on employment, several years ago I sent a list to the NBA of officials who had been NBA officials for more than a decade and never made the playoffs.

“I asked why we weren’t bringing in better officials than those who weren’t able to crack the top half of officials. [I think it’s 37 who get selected as playoff refs.] I also asked if being an NBA official was a lifetime job and at what point do we recognize that there is someone else out there who can do a better job? I did this knowing that any terminated refs could receive substantial pensions. As far as anything else, I’ve been the same way since I bought the team and have no reason to change.”

Basically, he's pretty publicly challenged the referee's union and demanded the NBA try to get better officiating. Not surprisingly, the ref union us upset and thinks he has it out for them. This seems like a completely obvious and traditional fight between management and unions, and a total non-story.

 

That is a disturbing photo.

 

Scumbag gonna scumbag

But no amount of bribes and threats will prevent the Mavs from being one of the worst teams in the league LOL

 

I see nowhere in that article any mention of bribes. Why would you use such a word? Bribing an official to change the outcome of the game is one of the upmost violations in sports. I don't see where bribes are mentioned.

And honestly, I don't see anything wrong in that article at all, except he might not be getting fined for cursing like he's supposed to. But the article says Doc Rivers and the Phoenix owner (Sarver?) are likewise getting off without the bigger fines for language.

IMO, this is a non-story as @Major said also. Aside from him cursing at them, Cuban says his main focus is improving review and management of officials. Read the article.

I'm still behind any owner in any sport who puts pressure on the ref unions and demands better review, accountability and hiring/management practices ...

and he also makes a great point about why there are so many 10yr vets who still haven't been given playoff jobs. .. sounds like possible cronyism to me in the ref union to give the same refs the best jobs. And further he says the managers of refs are the retired refs themselves with no precious managemnt experience...creating a cycle of control in the hands of the inner-loopers / Clintons.

I never understand this hatred of Cuban. I like to laugh at him and see him fail, but I do trust his word.

 

Don't they have like 8 wins lol

 

So if an official (who is a human being) can be influenced they should not be in the NBA.

Huh.

Who the hell isn't susceptible to pressure? If my boss tells me I'm doing my job poorly over and over, that's gonna influence me. Essentially, this is what Cuban is accomplishing as one of only 30 owners in the NBA. I'm all for improving job performance, but imagine being screamed at by someone in power at your job. Things like the following:

I would also disagree this is nothing more than Union vs. Mgmt. This is more like dealing with an out of control supervisor who doesn't follow proper procedure when dealing with performance issues. And furthermore, in a business where "fairness for all clubs" is crucial...what the hell is an owner doing involving himself that directly in the moment when those calls are being made?

He's not just another fan. He's a freaking owner. He's acting like its crazy to assume any official should be intimidated by his presence and obvious displeasure with your performance. Give me a break Mr. Cuban.

 

ha ain't nothing gonna salvage Mavs terrible season

 

this isn't new. cuban spent millions to change the way yao was officiated.

 

Cuban is awesome, and absolutely right on the money.

 

From experience living in certain countries, trust me, paying fines regularly is an effective form of bribery when the fine amount does not deter the action or disincentivize the corresponding financial gains.

In fact it's more effective than a bribe because it's technically legal to pay it and both sides can act unhappy.

Think about it. If you wanted to bribe, say, the real estate regulator in a country. If the fine for breaching rules is worth committing the crime, you would keep paying that fine regularly and intentionally and that could end up being a significant revenue stream on which the real estate regular would rely to run its operations. You do it long enough and the regulators other revenue streams are likely to shrink at some point, putting your "fines" in an indispensable position to them.

These are things you learn from living in a 3rd world country and quite common in the real estate and banking industries of 1st world countries. Now you would have to study how much Cuban gets fined and how significant that is to the particular department of the NBA which receives it and whether they ear mark that money for specific activities, but it is certainly a possibility.

 

On a separate note, it gives me great pleasure then to know that Cuban must be furious that we successfully lobbied to be able to pay Harden more money while he was no one even remotely resembling a superstar home team player. Up yours b*tch.