Honoring Cuban Freedom

I love Mark Cuban. I've never met him, but I want to hang out with him. It's not because he made a bajillion dollars by sitting around the house in front of a computer. It's because he has so much money that he has complete freedom of speech. Cuban owns the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA, and consistently, he gets in trouble with the league for things he says or writes. He has just been fined $200,000 in part because of comments he made about NBA playoff referees on his blog. He doesn't care. He says or writes what he believes and stands behind it. It's easy to do something like that when 200 grand is chump change.
I've never really figured out why referees, umpires, or other game officials aren't accountable to the public like the players and coaches are. Are they not part of the game? Shouldn't they be available for post-game questions, just like everybody else? All Cuban wants is consistent officiating, just like he wants consistent play and consistent coaching.
The NBA powers that be would be loathe to admit it, but Cuban makes their league more compelling. He is one of the most visible and vocal owners in all professional sports, right up there with George Steinbrenner and Jerry Jones. Fittingly, he's a bit of a maverick in an association that is somewhat disingenuous with its button-down attitude. The thought police who don't want him to criticize refs won't say a damn thing about the "gangsta" image many of its players seem so proud to perpetrate.
When it comes right down to it, Cuban seems to be intent on improving his product along with that of those who are most critical of his comments. He understands, as do his ardent detractors, that this is the time of year most crucial to the NBA's success. People who have no interest in the regular season will begin casually to pay attention during the playoffs. As they progress, presumably the quality and intensity of play will be on an upswing until they peak with the crowning of a champion. The games determine, in a fair and deliberate process, the best team in the NBA. The best teams deserve the best officials, and that's all Cuban is asserting.
Of course, the specific issue takes a back seat to the larger philosophy: that a man who has amassed a fortune and has chosen to invest a large chunk of it into a particular enterprise which is inherently dependent on public support should be able to speak his mind publicly. Of course, he is allowed legally to do so. He just has to face the consequences as determined by his peers. If those consequences are financial, he has the wherewithal to deal with them deftly.
I hope Cuban keeps talking and blogging. He is making the NBA better and remarkably more interesting. He's certainly not setting an example for decorum, but in the context of a gangsta league, his perceived indiscretions are mild and frankly, refreshing.

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