(AllHipHop News) Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban created a stir this week with comments he made during an interview with Inc. In the aftermath of the Donald Sterling controversy, Cuban addressed the issue of race and bigotry in the video Q&A. He suggested everyone prejudges others, including himself.
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“If I see a black kid in a hoodie and it’s late at night, I’m walking to the other side of the street,” said Cuban. “And if on that side of the street, there’s a guy that has tattoos all over his face – white guy, bald head, tattoos everywhere – I’m walking back to the other side of the street.”
While some praised the Shark Tank star for openly admitting his own prejudices, the statement also drew criticism for what was seen as an unbalanced equivalency of being fearful of an African American child wearing an article of clothing as compared to a white man with face tattoos.
The comments also upset others, because it seemed to reference the sensitive subject of the tragic killing of Trayvon Martin. Cuban took to Twitter to apologize to Martin’s family, but stood by the rest of his statements.
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P/1: In hindsight I should have used different examples. I didn’t consider the Trayvon Martin family, and I apologize to them for that.
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) May 22, 2014
P/2: beyond apologizing to the Martin family, I stand by the words and substance of the interview. — Mark Cuban (@mcuban) May 22, 2014
P/3: I think that helping people improve their lives, helping people engage with people they may fear or may not understand,
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) May 22, 2014
P/4: and helping people realize that while we all may have our prejudices and bigotries — Mark Cuban (@mcuban) May 22, 2014
P/5: we have to learn that it's an issue that we have to control, that it's part of my responsibility as an entrepreneur to try to solve it
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) May 22, 2014
