Late last year, I attended a conference on blogging - the first of its kind that I know of - and the closing keynote speaker was Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks.
Cuban is a versatile guy. A businessman extraordinaire, he has made billions in computer/digital/information technology. A rabid sports fan, he owns a fairly successful sports franchise. Being light on his feet, he did better than OK on Dancing with the Stars. And with a keen appreciation for the information free range the Internet has become, he's a celebrity blogger (blogmaverick.com).
In November, addressing a pretty eclectic crowd of folks who blog on all sorts of topics (sports, politics, parenting, you name it), Cuban sounded like a digital Thomas Paine.
"Blogging is a way for the truth to come out," Cuban said earnestly. "Blogging is a way for alternative ideas and opinions to come out. Blogging is also a way to create a forum so that people can exchange ideas."
Don't be so impressed that I recall that. I was there for Cuban's remarks and generally remembered his lofty appreciation for blogging, but I had to track down that portion of the actual speech on the Internet. Unlike my own, the Web's memory is remarkable.
So it came as a shock when a couple of weeks ago, Cuban made news by banning the only blogger who covers his basketball team from the Dallas locker room. The blogger works for The Dallas Morning News, the city's major newspaper.
In writing about the ban, the Dallas paper noted that the blogger - who has apparently been doing this since 2006 - had, on the day of the ban, criticized Mavs coach Avery Johnson.
Cuban, in response, said he had just become aware of the reporter's job and that his decision was not rooted in retaliation but that to allow one blogger in the locker room (regardless of affiliation) meant having to allow all bloggers. And that would be unworkable. The ban, in Cuban's view, was a gesture of fairness.
And to be fair to Cuban, the blogger was still permitted access to other areas, the press box and news conferences. But clearly, the locker room is the place to approach players, the stars of the show, so the ban effectively inhibited the blogger's opportunity to do meaningful reporting.
Obviously, I can't read Cuban's mind, so I am not going to call him a liar on the fairness issue. So, I'll call him what he clearly is on this point.
Stupid. Or silly. Or hypocritical.
Pick one or more.
