On Wednesday, Mark Cuban said he would cross the street if he saw a “black kid in a hoodie at night on the same side of the street” or a “white guy with a shaved head and lots of tattoos” late at night. On Thursday, he was criticized for being honest, but those like ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said Cuban was correct and his critics should “grow up.” On Thursday afternoon, Cuban apologized to Trayvon Martin’s family for using the “hoodie” example but stood “by the words and the substance of the interview.” See his tweets below:
P/1: In hindsight I should have used different examples. I didn’t consider the Trayvon Martin family, and I apologize to them for that.
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) May 22, 2014
P/2: beyond apologizing to the Martin family, I stand by the words and substance of the interview.
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) May 22, 2014
P/3: I think that helping people improve their lives, helping people engage with people they may fear or may not understand,
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) May 22, 2014
P/4: and helping people realize that while we all may have our prejudices and bigotries
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) May 22, 2014
P/5: we have to learn that it’s an issue that we have to control, that it’s part of my responsibility as an entrepreneur to try to solve it
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) May 22, 2014