DALLAS — Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said Tuesday he decided before this season began not to play the national anthem before the team’s home games.
The Mavericks played their first 10 regular-season home games without fans. They had fans for the first time in Monday’s 127-122 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Mavericks are allowing 1,500 vaccinated essential workers to attend games for free.
Cuban didn’t elaborate on his decision not to play the anthem, saying nobody had noticed. The Athletic first reported that the Mavericks had dropped the anthem.
NBA spokesman Tim Frank said, “Under the unique circumstances of this season, teams are permitted to run their pregame operations as they see fit.