But this one has nothing to do with missiles. I am of course, referring to the news that the SEC has filed a civil lawsuit against Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban for allegedly engaging in insider trading in 2004. It’s tough to have an opinion on what’s going on with so little of the facts available to the public (no insider information…hah) so on the surface it seems as though Cuban is guilty of the crime. (If you want background on the whole story, click here.) I mean, he pretty much admitted to it at the time when he said to the CEO “Well now I’m screwed. I can’t sell.” So…he obviously knew he couldn’t sell. But I wonder what actually made him sell his shares. Apparently he didn’t until a few hours after his conversation so maybe he consulted with his lawyers or something and they said to sell without any worries because he owed no fiduciary duty to the company so technically he wasn’t an insider. Regardless, Cuban, like all rich people, got greedy and wanted to escape any losses at the risk of (possibly) doing something illegal. But hey, I can’t blame the guy. He is a multi-billionaire because he’s that way and who wouldn’t want to be a multi-billionaire.
Cuban, in my opinion, is the best owner in all of professional sports. Simply put, he knows how to run a team. It seems like most owners are old-school and don’t know how to deal with the modern athlete. You know, today’s athlete that makes tens (sometimes hundreds) of millions of dollars for playing a child’s game (and I’m not bashing them. I think they deserve it considering how much money they bring in). Instead of saying, “You know what. I pay you guys millions of dollars. You guys can pay for all the luxuries that you want by yourself,” he instead spends even more money to provide them with some of the sickest amenities you’ll ever see in your life. And in return, pretty much every player wants to play for the Mavericks. I can understand why other owners in Major League Baseball do not want him to own the Chicago Cubs (and it looks like this event might be what does Cuban in). After seeing what he’s done with the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA, imagine what he could do with a team in a major market like Chicago in a league that has no salary cap. (And even though everyone already knows this, I would be remiss if I failed to mention that he’s also famously made a name for himself by publicly criticizing NBA Commissioner David Stern and other league officials as well as charging at refs with whom he’s been less then pleased with. His outspoken nature and temper has given him a reputation as somewhat of a rebel owner so I’m sure that’s also a reason why MLB team owners don’t want him to join their fraternity. Point being, Cuban has become a well-known figure in the public eye because of his position with the Mavs.)
I don’t want to give off the notion that celebrities are above the law (though the reality is sometimes they are), but this may be a case in which the SEC is trying to make an example out of Cuban because of his celebrity status as the owner of the Mavericks. I only say this because the trade happened in 2004 so why bring this up four years later, especially in a time when the country is dealing with dire economic circumstances? But I guess the SEC has gotta do what it’s gotta do to get its point across that insider trading is a serious issue because in all likelihood, it happens pretty often.
I was a bit surprised when I happened upon these allegations against Cuban as I respect what the man has accomplished in life. He truly is a forward thinker almost to a fault. Just reading about all his different business ventures makes me simultaneously think about all the money he’s losing and making. It’ll be interesting to see how this whole situation pans out as Cuban (not surprisingly) has vowed to fight the SEC’s lawsuit. For the record, I’ll say he’ll end up doing something he’s had to do a lot while owner of the Mavs: pay a (seven-figure) fine for his actions.
Posted by david im 
