Kerby Anderson

Just over a week ago, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban went into a Los Angeles studio to try to explain why he wasn’t aware of sexual harassment in the corporate offices of the Mavericks. The press conference to address the ruling by the NBA was in Dallas, but Mark Cuban (who was taping Shark Tank) stayed in LA to appear on an ESPN program. The fact that he couldn’t make it to Dallas for the press conference should tell you something.

His explanation on the ESPN program was that he should have “done due diligence” about who was running the corporate office. That would be someone who had already been under investigation for sexual harassment. Various sportswriters even wrote about it. When the Mavericks HR director recommended one of the individuals be fired, Cuban took a pass. It is worth remembering that Mark Cuban is often presented on Shark Tank as a hands-on boss and expert on entrepreneurship.

Of course, Mark Cuban isn’t alone. He joins a list of coaches like Urban Meyer at Ohio State and Joe Paterno at Penn State who didn’t see or didn’t act when sexual abuse or sexual harassment was taking place. What happened in the Mavericks corporate office could apparently also be found on colleges like Baylor and Michigan State. My point is this is not a small, isolated problem.

Why is this happening? The perpetrators have a power advantage over their employees, players, or family members. This is not only a problem in sports but in entertainment and politics as illustrated by the women who have come forward in the #MeToo movement.

It’s also happening because men in leadership in the sports programs I just mentioned didn’t see it because they weren’t looking for it. The solution is to change the sports culture and call for more scrutiny and accountability.