NBA owner Mark Cuban rows with Senator Ted Cruz over ‘GoWokeGoBroke’ claims
Texas politician angered billionaire by attacking league’s social activism
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.NBA owner Mark Cuban clashed with Senator Ted Cruz after the politician blamed the league’s falling TV ratings on its support for Black Lives Matter.
Sen Cruz took to Twitter to suggest that the poor ratings were caused by the NBA’s social activism and player protests, adding the hashtag “#GoWokeGoBroke”.
The third game of the NBA finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat on Friday night was the least watched Finals game in history with just 5.94 million viewers.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mr Cuban objected to the tweet and called out Mr Cruz.
“A US Senator with 3 @NBA teams in his state, employing thousands of people and he is rooting for their businesses to do poorly,” wrote Mr Cuban.
“This is who you are @tedcruz . Every minute of your life, this is exactly who you are.”
Mr Cruz shot back that he was a Houston Rockets fan and always supported the other teams from Texas.
But he accused the NBA of turning “every game into a left-wing political lecture. That’s dumb.”
Mr Cuban rejected the accusation and shot back at the politician: “You are so full of s***. You haven't watched a game of the finals, how would you know what is being said or done?
“Since when is a desire to end racism an insult to anyone or political? And you don't think using #GetWokeGoBroke is a partisan insult? Again, this is who you are.”
Mr Cruz replied: “I wish @mcuban loved his fans as much as he loves Chinese money.”
Observers say the viewing figures have been impacted by the NBA playing the finals in October and during an intense election season.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments