Mark Cuban isn’t afraid of speaking his mind on controversial issues and in an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine was blunt in assessing how professional sports teams manage players with dark pasts.
Mark Cuban says teams can’t ignore players with troubled pasts
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says professional sports teams shouldn’t turn a blind eye to players with troubled backgrounds.
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
The NFL’s recent wave of domestic violence issues has put the issue out there, and Cuban says that the NFL simply has more problems than the NBA because it has more players. All leagues, he believes, should change the way they view players with behavioral problems. First, they should make a point to find out which players have issues in the first place.
From Rolling Stone:
“You don’t go from the minors or college to the pros and all of the sudden become a spouse abuser, or any of a number of other serious personal issues,” Cuban said. “Those traits don’t suddenly appear when you make a pro roster. They were there in college. They were probably there prior to college. Yet we as leagues ignore those issues when we sign and draft players. That has to change.”
There’s a strong belief that many pro teams either ignore legal and behavioral issues from the past, or don’t do enough to help players through their problems.
Cuban wants professional teams and the colleges that produce athletes to be proactive in identifying at-risk players. If possible, they should manage such players by willingly putting them through counseling.
“We have a team psychologist who spends time with all of our guys,” Cuban told Rolling Stone. “While he won’t divulge specifics, we do discuss whether or not there are red flags regarding a player’s personal, professional or social life. We’ve had a functioning alcoholic on the team in the past and we put together plans and programs to help him. We’ve had other issues when we have asked the player to leave the team.”
The Mavericks have an unofficial policy of "no more than one knucklehead" on the team, and exceptions are rare, according to Cuban.
It’s interesting enough that Cuban acknowledged his team tried to help an alcoholic work through his issues. While we don’t know who the player was, it certainly is evidence that there is room to change the status quo -- teams ignoring or quickly ridding themselves of problematic players. Instead, professional sports teams can evaluate a player on a case-by-case basis, and if they choose, take on a player knowing the risks while also aiming to help him or her.
See More:
