Mark Cuban Blasts Selig ‘Mafia’ For A-Rod Suspension [Video]
Mark Cuban slammed MLB’s Bud Selig “mafia” for what he called the “horrible” steroid-related suspension of New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.
The Dallas Mavericks owner and Shark Tank star commented on the A-Rod suspension in an appearance on Jay Leno’s show Thursday night.
Thirteen players were suspended this week following an investigation into Biogenesis of America, a now closed Florida anti-aging clinic accused of distributing banned performance-enhancing drugs. While A-Rod has never tested positive for PEDs, he was listed as a client of Biogenesis of America.
Of the suspension that is currently being appealed by Rodriguez, who recently rejoined the Yankees after a rehab stint, Cuban declared that the MLB commissioner’s disciplinary action was “Horrible.”
Continued Cuban: “I think it’s disgraceful what Major League Baseball is trying to do to [A-Rod]. Look, it’s not that he doesn’t deserve to be suspended. He does. They have policies in place: A first-time offender is 50 games, and a second time is 100. Two hundred and fourteen games, that’s personal.”
Cuban was off by three games, as the actual A-Rod suspension totals 211.
Mark Cuban unsuccessfully tried twice to become an MLB owner, once for the Chicago Cubs and later for the Texas Rangers. Against this backdrop, the former tech mogul said that “I’ve got to tell you, with my experiences with Major League Baseball — and after all of this, there’s no chance I’m getting to buy a team — it’s basically become Bud Selig’s mafia. He runs it the way he wants to run it…”
Added Cuban: “I sat in there with my good, hard-earned money trying to bid, and they did everything possible to keep me from buying the team. They had lawyers in there trying to change the rules; they had people trying to put up more money. It was horrible.”
The Mavs owner apparently believes he would be too much of a maverick as it were to suit Bud Selig: “The way I run the Mavericks is I try to do what’s best for the fans, I try to do what’s best for the team, I try to do what’s best for the league. If I disagree with the commissioner every now and then, I’m not going to back down. Obviously, Bud Selig does not like to be tested. He does not want anyone to stand up to him.”
Do you agree with Mark Cuban’s criticism of Bud Selig’s handling of the A-Rod suspension? Do you think that the league is being run by a performance-enhancing mafia?
