He makes a few great points talking to Dan Patrick on ESPN Sportscenter. Short term, it
will increase ratings, just as it does for ESPN, CNN, et al. to assign reporters to Colorado and cover it extensively. Would it not be reasonable to suppose that the people who are interested in the case to also tune in and watch Lakers games when they're on the air?
Cuban also fires a preemptive shot against the media and puts Patrick on the defensive. Those in the media who condemn him for praising sensationalism have had no problems so far capitalizing on the sensationalism of the case and creating a media circus.
Also, once it's established that he at least has a case, why should he be silenced by the NBA? If it's okay for talk radio stations to discuss whether this will benefit Bryant in endorsements, why should an owner not have the right to express his opinion on whether this will benefit the league? We can agree that it was tackless and he probably shouldn't have said it, but fining him would be excess in censure. What would be the rationale for doing so? If what he said was debatably true, then the only rationales left would be either that he said something that should be left unsaid, or that it would hurt the image of the league. I have little sympathy for the former rationale because that would in effect limit speech to what is popular and politically correct.
The rationale for fining him because he hurt the league's image seems valid, until we realize that this is just a cover for punishing him for saying something that people don't agree with. Imagine this scenario: the NFL announced that it's their official position that the league no longer have a problem with the lack of minority hires in the coaching ranks, and removes all requirements for interviewing at least one minority candidate for head coaches. Dan Rooney, former president of the Pittsburgh Steelers and a long time advocate for minority hires, publicly disagreed and said that overall the NFL still discriminates against minorities. Would anyone approve if the NFL fines Rooney for hurting the image of the league? The question answers itself and reveals that support for fining Cuban for hurting the league's image is only a proxy for supporting fining him for saying something one does not agree with.
