Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban late Thursday apologized to the family of the late Trayvon Martin "over his choice of words in a videotaped interview in which he addressed bigotry and prejudice." Cuban on his Twitter feed wrote, "In hindsight I should have used different examples. I didn't consider the Trayvon Martin family, and I apologize to them for that." But Cuban also wrote that he "stands by the substance of the interview" (AP, 5/22).
In an interview at an Inc. magazine event, Cuban said, "If I see a black kid in a hoodie and it’s late at night, I’m walking to the other side of the street. And if on that side of the street, there’s a guy that has tattoos all over his face – white guy, bald head, tattoos everywhere – I’m walking back to the other side of the street" (INC.com, 5/22).
This morning's editions of ABC's "GMA," NBC's "Today" and "CBS This Morning" all aired taped reports within the first 16 minutes of their broadcasts on Cuban's comments. CBS' report included commentary from N.Y. Times columnist William Rhoden, and The Grio Editor Todd Johnson contributed to NBC's report. Last night's edition of ABC's "World News" aired a taped report from ABC's Ryan Smith on the comments. CBS' "Evening News" and NBC's "Nightly News" did not report on Cuban (THE DAILY).
