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Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks’ decision to ax the playing of the national anthem drew a ton of reaction Tuesday.
Cuban confirmed to The Athletic that it was his decision to no longer play the national anthem prior to home games at American Airlines Center. The Mavericks haven’t played the national anthem prior to home games this season, and the team doesn’t plan on playing it for the foreseeable future.
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"It was my decision, and I made it in November," Cuban told The New York Times.
NBA spokesman Tim Frank clarified the rules to The Associated Press.
"Under the unique circumstances of this season, teams are permitted to run their pregame operations as they see fit," Frank said.
The decision to nix the anthem drew reaction from both those disagreeing and those supporting it on social media.
The Dallas Stars, a professional NHL team, issued a statement in response to Cuban’s decision, saying it would continue to play the national anthem before games.
Cuban and the Mavericks didn’t publicize the removal of the national anthem prior to games, but The Athletic reached out to the team after realizing that it wasn’t played before Monday’s matchup.
FLASHBACK: WNBA PLAYERS CALL ON LEAGUE TO STOP PLAYING NATIONAL ANTHEM BEFORE GAMES
Several team employees only noticed the removal of the anthem on their own, according to The Athletic. They also said that it was not announced or explained internally.
Over the summer, Cuban got into a social media spat with a few people over Mavericks players kneeling for the national anthem. He tweeted "bye" at radio host Mark Davis after he threatened to stop watching if players knelt during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner."
According to The Hill, Cuban then added: "If you want to complain, complain to your boss and ask why they don't play the National Anthem every day before you start work."
That tweet has since been deleted.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, then put himself into the middle of it, adding: "NBA is telling everyone who stands for the flag, who honors our cops and our veterans, to ‘piss off’? In Texas, no less?"
Cruz and Cuban then got into it over the league’s relationship with China.
MARK CUBAN CONFIRMS MAVERICKS ARE NO LONGER PLAYING NATIONAL ANTHEM AT HOME GAMES
Cuban has been a supporter of players exercising their First Amendment rights to protest and of them doing so during the national anthem in recent years.
WNBA players raised the issue over the summer about why the national anthem is even played before games to begin with. Major League Soccer didn't play the anthem when they returned initially because there were no fans in the stands.
Mark Clague, an expert on the national anthem, told NPR in 2018 that "The Star-Spangled Banner" was first played at a sporting event in Brooklyn, N.Y., on May 15, 1862. The song meshed with the dedication of a new baseball field in the New York City borough, he said.
"They hire a band because it's a big celebration," he told NPR at the time. "When you have live music in 1862, during the Civil War, you're going to play patriotic songs. So they play 'The Star-Spangled Banner,' sort of coincidentally. It's not part of a ritual; [it's] not played to start the game."
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The anthem was played again during the 1918 World Series and because of the crowd’s reaction, the song stuck throughout all four major North American sports.
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