'The Olympics Are a Business': Mark Cuban Says NBA Players Should Not Be Permitted to Play in the 2024 Summer Games Cuban has been publicly criticizing the International Olympic Committee and NBA players competing since at least 2004.
By Emily Rella Edited by Melissa Malamut
Key Takeaways
- Mark Cuban explained his opposition to NBA players participating in the Olympic Games on X.
- Cuban says the "Olympics are a business."
- The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been putting copyright restrictions on certain clips across social media.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Though Mark Cuban isn't the majority owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks anymore, he still has strong opinions on professional basketball players participating in the 2024 Summer Olympics.
On X, Cuban said he has "always been against NBA players playing in the Olympics" and linked to three blog posts he's penned in years past that talk about the business of sports.
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"The Olympics are a business. First and last," Cuban wrote. "We should put on our own World Cup and treat the Olympics like Soccer does."
The Olympics are a business. First and last.
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) July 27, 2024
I've always been against NBA players playing in the Olympics. We should put on our own World Cup and treat the Olympics like Soccer does. https://t.co/RrABlkNFtjhttps://t.co/vWiLnEAEh2https://t.co/Rtc5z2bKEt https://t.co/OwF4kH576K
In a 2004 blog post, Cuban wrote that by providing the IOC with NBA players who are already signed to contracts in the USA, the league is essentially providing free advertising and exposure while putting players at risk of injury.
"What in the world are we doing helping our partners' competition," Cuban penned. "Why are we giving our most valuable manpower to a huge business, the Olympics so they can try to take revenue away from the NBA and our partners?"
In 2012, Cuban wrote a blog post that referred to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as a "monopoly" and referred to the organization as being a "dysfunctional, dated and corrupt governing body and system.
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"I don't want to sound un-American as I have just as much fun and pride as most when we get the opportunity to chant U-S-A! U-S-A! But I also know that feel of nationalism wouldn't change a bit if the athletes were getting paid a decent amount of money," he wrote. "In fact, what could be more American than getting paid a fair share for hard work?"
Athletes at the Games win cash prizes if they win a medal, but do not get paid solely for their participation in the competition.
Cuban posted after rival Elon Musk noted the IOC and airing partner NBC have placed copyright restrictions on certain clips and highlights of the Olympic Games on X, making the content unavailable.
"This goes against the spirit of the Olympic Games," the original post stated, noting that the Games should be accessible to everyone. "Make it accessible to everyone, everywhere on all platforms."
Cuban was the owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks before selling his majority stake to Miriam Adelson for roughly $3.5 billion in December 2023.
