Mark Cuban bans two ESPN reporters from covering Mavericks

[Tugg Speedman]

This makes no sense to me ... typical of Cuban.

Mark Cuban: I Banned Those ESPN Reporters To Win The War Against Robots
November 07, 2016

http://deadspin.com/mark-cuban-i-banned-those-espn-reporters-to-win-the-wa-1788686916

Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks pulled the credentials of experienced ESPN reporters Marc Stein and Tim MacMahon this weekend under mysterious circumstances. There was no obvious motive for the Mavericks to do so, and Cuban hasn't said much to clear it up—but he broke his silence this evening. Cuban told the Associated Press he banned MacMahon and Stein to stave off the advances of the encroaching robot sportswriter horde:

"Maybe I will be wrong but I see a direct path from the trends in coverage of games we are seeing over the last couple years to the automation of reporting on games and the curation of related content," Cuban wrote in an email to the AP. "This isn't a knock on wire services or their reporters. They are valued and valuable in sports coverage."

"While it may seem counterintuitive to ban someone from covering us as a way of stopping automation, it really was my only option," Cuban said. "As is evident by the AP partnership with Automated Insights, it's not if but when."

[MU82]

In general, I have liked Cuban and have thought he's been good for the NBA.

I don't like this move. I'll generously call it shortsighted and selfish, and his explanation nonsensical.

[4everwarriors]

Who da fook is Mark Cuban? Gettin' just a tad full of himself lately, ai na?

[tower912]

Silly move.   

[brandx]

In general, I have liked Cuban and have thought he's been good for the NBA.

I don't like this move. I'll generously call it shortsighted and selfish, and his explanation nonsensical.

I agree, mostly.

He has a good point; fighting against the automation of having a machine, rather than a human, writing and disseminating a story.

The process he is using makes the whole thing seem kinda silly.

[GGGG]

I think the only reason he did this was to make the point...even though it was done in a strange way.