KOBE BRYANT DEAD AT 41: NBA legend, 13 yr-old daughter Gianna among 9 confirmed dead

[SleepingHero]

I guess Mark Cuban wanting to honor Kobe makes sense considering the Dallas Mavericks organization's reputation for the way they treat women.  I guess that whole rape thing bothers me more than most.

I don't even understand what you're implying? That Cuban himself was apart of rape? First off, there was no rape. There was a pattern of on-going sexual harassment and abuse by the people in power in the business operations side of the Mavs. Big difference than rape. Not saying one is more serious than the other, but there is a significant difference between rape and sexual harassment. Secondly, 2 separate investigations were conducted that investigated Cuban's involvement and the Mavs themselves. One by a 3rd party law firm and another by the NBA themselves. They both walked away saying that Cuban was not at fault whatsoever as he had no possible way of knowing. The 2 people that report directly to Cuban were the ones covering it up. None of the victims went to Cuban, by their own admission. As to why? We'll never know and it is never right to blame the victims for not seeking out Cuban nor is it right to blame Cuban for not telepathically knowing that some of his employees were being harassed.

I don't understand vilifying a guy who never committed the crime. Furthermore, this was at the height of the #metoo movement. Had Cuban done anything that was even remotely dirty, you can bet that the NBA would have come down with the harshest of punishments. But all they got was a slap on the wrist because all the people involved were fired 4 years before the story ever came out, and those who weren't were quickly dealt with as more details came out.

Thirdly, the basketball side of the organization, the area that Cuban was most involved with, was lauded for their treatment of women. The women involved even stated that the basketball locker room was a safe haven, and every single person within the basketball side of things treated them amazing. Your thought process is yet another example of why today there is so much hate. Guilty until proven innocent, and even after proven innocent, Cubes is still guilty because of the sheer mention of his name in the story. 

Finally, I think its honestly disgusting that you bring up such a classless and thoughtless point at such a vulnerable time after the tragic death of Kobe. I'm not even going to go into the details of his rape case (hint: the victim herself refused to testify under oath, throwing all criminal charges out the window, and she quickly filed a civil case with the hopes of it being settled). But while Kobe committed an immoral act of cheating on his wife, one mistake doesn't define a person. And as we can see from the immeasurable amount of people affected by his death, Kobe's body of work speaks for itself. That is what defines Kobe. That is what Cuban is honoring. And given the countless battles against the Lakers over the years, and the connection between Kobe and Dirk, it's a no brainer as to why Kobe deserves such an honor from the Mavs even though he never donned a Mavs jersey.

Kobe touched millions of people for the better and dared them to be a better version of themselves. Unfortunately that lesson didn't get through to you yet. Be better.

#MambaOut.