Dallas Mavericks owner and billionaire businessman Mark Cuban is known for not having a filter and he certainly didn’t have one on Wednesday during a conference in Nashville. He covered a wide range of topics, from his own prejudices to the success of ABC’s Shark Tank.
Cuban spoke at Inc. Magazine’s annual GrowCo conference, which was hosted at the Omni hotel, reports The Tennessean. Cuban was interviewed by Inc. editor-in-chief Eric Schurenberg and drew several applauses from the audience throughout. The Shark Tank judge left nothing off the table, especially when it comes to bigotry.
Since racist comments from Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling was banned from NBA activities and may be forced to sell the team, some have wondered if other NBA owners have similar beliefs. Cuban said that you can’t actually ban bigotry from the NBA, as “There's no law against stupid.”
He later explained that he does have his own prejudices, suggesting that no one can have completely “pure thoughts.”
“I know I'm prejudiced and I know I'm bigoted in a lot of different ways. If I see a black kid in a hoodie on my side of the street, I'll move to the other side of the street,” Cuban explained. “If I see a white guy with a shaved head and tattoos, I'll move back to the other side of the street. None of us have pure thoughts; we all live in glass houses.”
Cuban was also asked about his relationship with former NBA Commissioner David Stern, who has been replaced with Adam Silver. He said that the two didn’t always agree, but they got along “great.”
As for Shark Tank, which has become a surprise hit reality series for ABC on Fridays, Cuban said that the show proves that the American Dream does still exist. He also calls the companies he’s decided to fund on the show his “babies.”