Time For Mark Cuban to Step Down?

Mark Cuban has been one of the most important people in America recently. He's been the owner of the Dallas Mavericks for about a decade, he's currently on Shark Tank, and he's invested money in many different businesses, many that have either gained a profit or have failed miserably. The latest, however, with the Dallas Mavericks and its workplace culture might be the doom that not only gets him out of sports, but might get him out of other jobs as well.

With the Sports Illustrated report that came out just days ago, many have called for him to step down or to sell the Mavericks team. So far, it has worked on other teams. Remember Donald Sterling? When the tape came out that he was saying racist things, the NBA commissioner Adam Silver forced him to sell the team and then banned him for life from attending NBA games. It was an easy decision for Silver, considering that around 80% of the NBA is African-American. Although the punishment at that time was considered harsh, it was also necessary to send a message to other owners and people around the time: That type of behavior won't be tolerated and it's an offense that won't be condoned.

This one, however, is going to be even trickier for Silver. Whether or not you believe Mark Cuban's comments that he didn't know about the culture going on inside the Mavericks' culture, being the CEO requires you to be in the know about what goes on inside your workplace. That means Mark Cuban, at most, had to know what was going on inside the Mavericks organization, from top to bottom. That's why I believe he will step down before Silver imposes any kind of punishment on him.

We're seeing this nowadays in other workplaces: People are getting fired because of accusations of sexual harassment, and it has put people heading those organizations in very difficult positions to either fire the people accused of it or face the wrath of liberals everywhere, demanding why action has not been taken against them. In this case, the action is being fired from the position.

A few weeks ago, I came out and wrote an article for my Calling The Shots blog about why Matt Lauer was being fired about something that happened years ago and there had been no other incidents since. I felt that NBC was pulling the quick trigger on a guy that, despite these accusations in the past, there had not been any more incidents since. But as I continued to watch this and as the days moved on, I began to understand it even more because there's two reasons: It would be a PR nightmare, especially with liberals mostly controlling the media nowadays, and that women, especially those who are still there, would be very uncomfortable around men who have had this type of behavior in the past. Matt Lauer, despite the feeling of being innocent until guilty, was guilty anyway, whether or not this was true.

Now, I'm not saying Mark Cuban himself falls into that category, but he also has to take the full blame for what happened in this culture in the organization. He allowed this behavior to go on, and allowed for a person accused of sexual harassment to stay in this job. He did later fire the guy for a separate incident, but the fact that this report came on now, it's easy to say that he didn't take enough action to prevent the behavior again.

Mark Cuban, despite being a respectable guy and a great investor and good CEO at times, this is where the lines blur the most. He allowed the culture of harassment to go on, whether directly or indirectly, and I think for women in this world to be more inclusive in this environment, it means kicking out who directly or indirectly were involved in allowing this behavior to happen. That means Cuban himself has to step down. He may not have been aware of what was going happen, considering he's a busy man, but it all remains the same: The behavior can't be tolerated now and it's definitely a fireable offense. I mean, look at the men nowadays who are being fired for accusations. It's clear in this case, you're guilty no matter what. Cuban is guilty of allowing this to happen.

Choruses grow loud for people to step down, and I think in the case of Mark Cuban, he has to step down, especially since this behavior was allowed to go on for years unnoticed. Women should be allowed nowadays to say whatever they want, and they shouldn't have to be the ones that face the consequences. Mark Cuban did not make women in this organization feel comfortable, and that's a bad mark on him.

If Mark Cuban doesn't step down, Adam Silver will force him to sell and get rid of him for life. The NBA, at the height of its popularity, is now facing another big scandal and it will lead to a PR nightmare. It's best for them to cut those involved in this, and try to build a culture that's more inclusive.

Mark Cuban will now become toxic, and many other places will look to dump him because of what happened in Dallas. It will be hard for him to find work anytime soon, but when you allow this to happen and do nothing about it, that's the price you have to pay. Time for him to face the music, step down, and learn his lesson: This behavior isn't tolerated anymore, and it's now fireable.