- In an interview on The New York Times Magazine, billionaire Mark Cuban said that the killing of George Flyod and the growth of Black Lives Matter has changed how he thinks about race.
- In the past, he saw himself as 'colorblind', but now realizes that's not enough, he said.
- In the wake of George Floyd's death, corporations have promised greater diversity and inclusivity in their organisations. Cuban, who owns the Dallas Mavericks, says sports team owners shouldn't feel obliged to support Black Lives Matter, but that doing so could help them connect with their fans.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
The surge in support for Black Lives Matter has left more business owners than ever promising to support diversity and inclusion in their firms. One such person is billionaire Mark Cuban, owner of NBA team the Dallas Mavericks, who told The New York Times Magazine that the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer has changed how he thinks about race.
He admitted to telling "stupid jokes" to colleagues in the past, and said he had assumed he wasn't racist because he was "colorblind." But now, he realizes that's not enough, he said.
"George Floyd's death, it changed me. It really did," he said. "I used to think that if I told a stupid joke to David, I could tell a stupid joke to Sue and I could tell a stupid joke to an African-American because I didn't think that it was racist, and if I'm colorblind, I can't be part of the problem."
But he now realizes that "treating everybody the same is not the same as treating everybody equally," he said.
He said he wouldn't repeat the mistake he made after the shooting of Trayvon Martin in 2012 — at the time, Cuban said he would cross the street late at night if he saw a "black kid in a hoodie" or a "guy who has tattoos all over his face, white guy, bald head, tattoos everywhere." He later apologized to Martin's family for the comments.
"That was my way of saying: 'I don't see color,'" he told the Times Magazine. "'I try to evaluate each person individually, but I have prejudices that all people have.' I won't say that anymore. Colorblind isn't the way to be."
He added that, in recent months, he's learned a lot from listening to Dallas Mavericks players talk about their experiences with racism.
"When people talk about Black Lives Matter, they're not saying white lives don't matter; they're saying that black people and different ethnicities have been mistreated. And when you see somebody who's mistreated, you help them. That's what I came to realized."
Supporting Black Lives Matter isn't an obligation — but there are "consequences" if owners don't
Cuban doesn't think sports team owners like him should feel obligated to support Black Lives Matter, but he thinks "there's a consequence if you're not." If owners aren't loved by their community, they will suffer, he said. "You're not going to have intense fans and you're not going to have a business," he added.
Cuban, who is 62, is a successful investor and entrepreneur who is worth more than $4 billion. He bought most of the stake in the Dallas Mavericks in 2000.
He has recently criticized President Donald Trump's administration, and advocated for both the Black Lives Matter movement and changes in the US healthcare system.
