Right-wing sports commentator Clay Travis got the attention of billionaire Mark Cuban, and the two got into a back and forth on Twitter.
Travis tagged Cuban in a tweet that linked to a column called “NBA Is The Original Bud Light, And No One In Mainstream Sports Media Will Tell You That,” which Travis wrote on his website Outkick.
This led to a back and forth between Travis and the Dallas Mavericks owner about the NBA’s position as one of the most vocal leagues about human rights.
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Travis and Cuban Go Back and Forth
Travis’ talked about Bud Light’s sales dip since partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in April. In his story, Travis compares the NBA to Bud Light and said the league “alienated” its fans by going “woke.”
He argued that the NBA’s television ratings have seen a stark decline in the last 30 years, and that other leagues like the NCAA and NFL, who haven’t been as vocal as the NBA, have continued to experience growth.
Cuban’s rebuttal was that the NBA has seen increased television viewership in more recent years, and that NBA has dominated social media metrics even compared to other sports.
Probably because the NFL is more popular than us. But our ratings were up as well.
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) July 6, 2023
Let me ask you 2 questions
1. Why was the NBA more watched than every other TV show on tv , particularly in the young demos and the most popular on social media ?
2. What happens to your show…
Travis posited that social media impressions “detract from the popularity of actual NBA games.” He then pointed at a common talking point from the right-wing media: the NBA’s silence on human rights atrocities in China.
Cuban did not directly touch the matter on China, going for a more general clap back.
“All people deserve human rights Clay, in all countries,” Cuban wrote.
Travis continued to pry at Cuban, asking the NBA or the Dallas Mavericks shot back by saying that Travis is trying to play “gotcha” instead of actually caring about human rights.
So you disagree with the Chinese communist party putting their people in concentration camps and denying their people basic human rights? We agree! Why not have @nba issue that statement? And if the NBA won’t, why not have @dallasmavs issue that statement? I’d be hugely… https://t.co/hM6bMJhdqV
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) July 6, 2023
Cuban then showed a screenshot of the Inclusion and Diversity statement of FOX, the parent company of Travis’ Outkick, teasing Travis that his company is “pretty damn woke” too.
The two exchanged several more jabs, with Travis calling Cuban’s argument “lazy” and calling him a “bitch” for not speaking up about China.
Cuban’s final response was to say that people ending arguments by resorting to name calling were likely on the wrong end of it. Travis’ final jab hammered home his central point on China.
“You clearly put money over everything while pretending otherwise,” Travis said.
I’d tell my kids to stop being a bitch and stand up to Chinese human rights abuses instead of worrying what evil dictators might do to their money. But I want my kids to stand on principle. You clearly put money over everything while pretending otherwise. Good luck, bud.
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) July 7, 2023
Some Context About the NBA on Human Rights
The NBA and its players have been active in supporting human rights for decades, dating back to Bill Russell and Kareen Abdul-Jabbar (then Lou Alcindor) fighting for the rights of Black Americans in the 1960s and '70s.
But the NBA -- whose player pool is about 3/4 Black -- took a much stronger stance against human rights violations in the 2020 NBA bubble, which happened during the height of the covid-19 pandemic but also during deep civil unrest in the country in the wake of the George Floyd killing.
Most of the NBA players and coaches kneeled during the national anthem before games in empty arenas at Disney World. The league also had statements like “Black Lives Matter” plastered on the NBA court and on the back of player jerseys.
The NBA has also been a strong supporter of the LGBTQ+ community through individual team celebrations as well as empowerment of the WNBA, which has many openly LGBTQ+ players.
But the NBA has been mum on atrocities outside of the United States, particularly in China, which has been one of the core arguments of its critics.
The NBA’s tricky relationship with China was put under a spotlight in 2019 when Daryl Morey, then the General Manager of the Houston Rockets, tweeted in support of Hong Kong. Other than damaged relations, this also led to broadcasting bans in China for the Rockets, which troubled the league that has invested billions in the country.
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