Adam Silver stood up to Mark Cuban — and it was the right move.
Tuesday night the Mavericks honored former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo by having him be a “Maverick for a day.” He went through shootaround with the team, went through the layup line pregame, and sat on the bench in uniform for an NBA game. It was a marketing stunt, and while there was plenty of debate about whether it went too far on sports talk radio, it was ultimately harmless.
However, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban had wanted to sign Romo to a one-day contract and play him in that game, but Commissioner Adam Silver shot the idea down, Cuban told Todd Archer of ESPN.If Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban had his way, Tony Romo would not only have dressed for Tuesday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets, he would have found his way into the game.
When he approached NBA commissioner Adam Silver with the idea, Cuban said, “I told him what I was going to do and said, ‘Fine me if you don’t like it.’”
Silver told Cuban the contract would not be honored, which killed the idea but did not stop the Mavericks from honoring the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback.
Good on Silver. That was the right call.
Having Romo in layup lines is one thing, having him play in the game is another. That would be denigrating the game. That would be an insult to all the guys busting it nightly in the D-Leauge just to get a chance to prove they deserve a shot in the NBA. Romo in a game would have been a step too far.
As it was, some fans thought this was a step too far, but Cuban told them to chill — the NBA is entertainment, and that’s all this was. He’s right. But only thanks to Silver.
