Mark Cuban Dislikes Bloggers Who Aren't Him

We know. You're like us. You've always wished professional sports owners could be more like Mark Cuban. He's cool! He's like a real fan! He has a blog! He's not afraid to pick a nonsensical fight with Midwesterners! But, alas, we should perhaps not be too surprised: He's as bad as the rest of them. Perhaps worse.

After a Dallas Morning News reporter/blogger broke some embarrassing news about a "Fire Avery Johnson" campaign after a game late last month, the Mavericks and Cuban announced that no one writing a blog will be allowed in the locker room.

The Dallas Mavericks will not allow ANY writer into the locker room areas pre-game and post-game whose primary purpose is to blog no matter what affiliation. They may still represent their respective publication at games but will not be granted locker room access. We have gone this route because we did not want to give preferential treatment to any blogger, whether they are an individual or from a large media outlet. We just do not have enough room in the locker room, nor enough media passes to fairly accommodate everyone.

Tim MacMahon, the blogger/reporter who might have caused all this fuss, points out that the Mavericks locker room is enormous and has never had a problem with overcrowding before. (He can't say it, because he's all "impartial" and "objective" and therefore can't just completely call bullshit on Cuban, so we will: Bullshit.) We presume this no-bloggers policy doesn't extend to, of course, Cuban himself.

We haven't talked much about our whole imbroglio with Cuban, not because we feared we were in the wrong (we're 100 percent certain we weren't), but because we hadn't quite come to terms with the fact that a guy we've always respected could be so petty and deluded. (He's also partially responsible for No End In Sight and Bubble, two great movies.) But our experience with him doesn't compare to this. Essentially, a man who supposedly is a champion of new media is attempting to control coverage of his team, even from "legitimate" credentialed reporters. Charming, really.

There has to be something more to this, right? Right?

Cuban's Policy Bans Bloggers From Locker Room [MavsBlog]