Earlier this week, businessman, Dallas Mavericks owner, investor, and television personality Mark Cuban decided to virtue-signal his support for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies on social media and ended up getting humiliated instead.
Here’s how it went down:
The issue of DEI policies has come under the microscope quite a bit recently, and X/Twitter owner Elon Musk expressed opposition to controversial DEI policies in a post that said, "DEI is just another word for racism. Shame on anyone who uses it."
This caught the attention of journalist Ed Krassenstein, who responded by saying, "I don't think DEI is ‘racism' but it definitely can have some major flaws that should be addressed."
"I believe we should focus more on addressing socioeconomic differences rather than racial differences,” he added. "Addressing socioeconomic differences, and trying to level the playing field there, will go a long way in helping with the racial differences."
Elon Musk wasn’t impressed by his explanation, pointing out, accurately, that "Discrimination on the basis of race, which DEI does, is literally the definition of racism."
Discrimination on the basis of race, which DEI does, is literally the definition of racism
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 3, 2024
And that’s where Mark Cuban chimed in, replying to Musk’s assessment in a long thread.
I’m not going to quote the entire thing, but in a nutshell, Cuban claimed that seeking diversity in hiring, including people of various races, ethnicities, and orientations, can lead to finding more qualified people and ultimately benefit the company's success. "Having a workforce that is diverse and representative of your stakeholders is good for business,” he said.
Cuban also argued, without evidence, that people of different races, ethnicities, and orientations are routinely excluded from hiring consideration, even though it is literally illegal to do so. In the United States, we have the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission specifically to protect people from this kind of discrimination. Of course, Cuban also went into a smarmy interpretation of what “equity” and “inclusion” are about, not at all taking into account the reality of what these policies are doing.
If you want to read the whole thread, go for it.
Let me help you out and give you my thoughts on DEI
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) January 3, 2024
1. Diversity
Good businesses look where others don't, to find the employees that will put your business in the best possible position to succeed.
You may not agree, but I take it as a given that there are people of various… https://t.co/L00fl6ggUD
How committed is Mark Cuban to the ideals he professes? Well, Elon Musk responded to Cuban’s rant in epic fashion.
Cool, so when should we expect to see a short white/Asian women on the Mavs?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 4, 2024
Cuban didn’t reply to Musk but responded to a similar tweet from Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), who called him out for the lack of diversity on the Dallas Mavericks.
If you were trying to make a stupid comment, you nailed it.
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) January 4, 2024
First, as an organization as a whole, yes we do.
More importantly, if you understand the value of DEI, it's not in checklists and quotas , it's in understanding how to best compete as a company.
We hire the… https://t.co/GS7t14zl9U
According to Cuban, "We hire the people who put us in the best position to succeed."
Of course, that doesn’t explain why the Dallas Mavericks team doesn’t represent the diversity of America. Cuban essentially disproved his own theory. He never sought to “look where others don’t” to fill his team roster. If diversity for diversity’s sake makes for a better workforce, wouldn’t a roster that reflects the demographics of America more accurately benefit the team and the organization as a whole?
That’s the ideal that Cuban professed to believe in and virtue-signaled on social media, but he also proved he doesn’t actually believe it.
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