Mavericks owner Mark Cuban emboldened a firestorm of controversy when he took to the ever-Facebook-alternative social media platform X over the weekend. The biggest takeaway from his post, which now, is a thing of the past, was him denouncing hiring decisions solely based on the color of one’s skin, religion or gender. Cuban is vehemently convinced that as long as the person ‘fits the mold’ laid out by the position, race and gender would be taken into account if their potential to bring in diversity is up to par. In his own words, he believes it to be a “competitive advantage”.
Cuban did not realize, or maybe he did, that he had unwrittenly accepted a narrative that did more harm than good. Sure, this may be a case of overlooking, but it doesn’t negate the fact that such ‘woke’ arguments now often result in a backlash. Claiming diversity as a ‘competitive edge’ and all that line says about the recklessly silly charge of the elite tucked inside a consistent broad definition, is an integral part of the problem. Why should diversity only be relevant in one aspect of his investments and not in all.
I’ve never hired anyone based exclusively on race, gender, religion.
I only ever hire the person that will put my business in the best position to succeed.
And yes, race and gender can be part of the equation. I view diversity as a competitive advantage
Now how would you… https://t.co/gxdtauMHtz
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) January 28, 2024
Andrea R. Lucas, Commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, was one of the first to notice Cuban’s post and immediately responded in disagreement, correcting him on the interpretation of standards laid out, telling him he was “dead wrong” when it came to black-letter Title VII Law.
@mcuban, EEOC Commissioner here. Unfortunately you’re dead wrong on black-letter Title VII law. As a general rule, race/sex can’t even be a “motivating factor”—nor a plus factor, tie-breaker, or tipping point. It’s important employers understand the ground rules here.
— Andrea R. Lucas (@andrealucasEEOC) January 29, 2024
As she elaborated further on her reply, Lukas also made it clear that race and gender could not be a ‘motivating factor’ and that employers should be aware of that in their hiring practices. Simply put in her own words, this is no debate as to the rules of engagement.“It’s important employers understand the ground rules here.”
I believe in a colorblind meritocracy; this means I am against forms of hiring which undercut merit including forms of hiring which cut out merited individuals over their group association(s).
I’ve answered plenty of your questions so can you do one for me:
Title VIl of the…
— The Rabbit Hole (@TheRabbitHole84) January 28, 2024
Republican Sen.Schmitt of Missouri couldn’t resist chiming in with more of an order than remark by fraternally ordering Cuban to call or contact his lawyer. If Lucas, the commissioner of the very organization that was deemed necessary to correct Cuban, predicted the possibility of trouble ahead.
.@mcuban call your lawyer. https://t.co/BMbhFI22JV
— Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) January 29, 2024
As Cuban was being sternly schooled on the very matter, some verified accounts reacted to the situation for public viewing, using just the right amount of humor to sound intellectually superior to Cuban. An account with 26,000 followers said, as recorded by The Western Journal, “Hey, @mcuban, it seems you’re in violation of federal law. What now? You racist.”
Hey, @mcuban, it seems you’re in violation of federal law.
What now?
You racist ????.— ZNO ???????? (@therealZNO) January 29, 2024
Twitter user, The Redheaded Libertarian, with a following of 587,000 followers, took it a step further and settled for visual mockery. In fact, she simply posted a GIF of the puppet Elmo with hands raised in front of a raging inferno.