Credit: NBC Sports

Mark Cuban, Texan Sport Teams Forced To Play Nation Anthem Before Games By New Law

Along the social justice movement ‘Black Lives Matter’, the Dallas Mavericks didn’t play the national anthem for the first 13 games of last season.

That’s what Mavs owner Mark Cuban admitted. Cuban said he was prompted to stop playing the anthem by some community members’ concerns that “it did not fully represent them.”

“We respect and always have respected the passion people have for the anthem and our country. I have always stood for the anthem with the hand over my heart — no matter where I hear it played. But we also hear the voices of those who do not feel the anthem represents them. We feel they also need to be respected and heard, because they have not been heard. The hope is that those who feel passionate about the anthem being played will be just as passionate in listening to those who do not feel it represents them.”

This though might be in the past for one key reason; as of September 1st, 2021 a new law in Texas has teams and government agencies come through with a “written verification” promising to play the national anthem at the teams’ home stadiums. 

The new law prohibits “a governmental entity from entering into a financial agreement with a professional sports team unless the team agrees to play the national anthem at the start of home games.”