Monday 23 March 2020 12:29, UK
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says sport will be vital to bringing communities back together after coronavirus clears.
Roughly a week ago, the NBA world - and the rest of the sports world soon thereafter - was turned on its head by the coronavirus. It wasn't long after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert was revealed to have tested positive for coronavirus that the NBA suspended its season, and collegiate and other professional leagues in the United States followed suit.
Mavericks owner Cuban was quick to make up for the wages employees at American Airlines Center would lose because of the suspended NBA season. He also recently committed to donate more than $100,000 to area non-profit organisations amid the virus outbreak.
While the world works through the coronavirus pandemic, Cuban - like many - is hopeful the NBA and other leagues can return to play before too long.
Cuban was a guest on CNBC's Squawk Box and said he views sport as a unifying factor that can help the country get back on its feet after coronavirus isolation ends.
"Hopefully, when the NBA, the NHL, Major League Soccer, Major League Baseball, football, all start to really happen again, we'll all get excited about our teams and as communities, we'll come together," Cuban said.
"Sports will be a vital mechanism for bringing people back together when this happens, and so, yeah, I'm excited for that, but in reality, basketball is the last thing on my mind right now.
"But I will say, we are using the Mavericks to try to do as much as we can to keep people energised and engaged while everybody is stuck at home."
Cuban also spoke of how important the 2020 Olympics, which are set to begin July 24 in Tokyo, could be for the world at large.
"Here's what I'll say. We all use sports as a way to celebrate, a way to get excited, a way to come together," Cuban said. "Nobody throws a parade when Apple or Google will have the most amazing quarter they have ever had, but when a team wins a championship, they throw a parade.
"And so hopefully we will have the [2020] Olympics, and we will be able to come together as a country around our team, the US Olympics team, and that'll be great for us. We'll all get out of the house, we'll all celebrate together."
