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Mark Cuban donating $1M to help keep Dallas LGBT community safe
In response to the worst mass shooting in U.S. history — a killing spree that left 49 victims dead and dozens more wounded at an LGBT nightclub in Orlando — Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will donate $1 million to fund the Dallas Police Department's presence in the city's most populous LGBT community.
The funds will be earmarked for roughly 16,000 hours of overtime pay to enhance counterterrorism efforts by Dallas police, most notably an increased presence in the city's Oak Lawn neighborhood, which features many of the area's most popular LGBT attractions, Mayor Mike Rawlings announced.
“Once again, Mark has demonstrated his devotion to his city by stepping up in a time of need,” Rawlings said during Wednesday's Dallas Pride Month Spirit of Equality Awards Ceremony at City Hall. “In the wake of national tragedies, we often hear empty talk from politicians and other influencers. With this pledge, Mark shows he is a man of action who cares deeply about his fellow Dallasites."
Over the past year, Cuban has respectively told Business Insider and "Meet the Press" he would consider serving as vice president to Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton if either approached him, and the billionaire's "Shark Tank" costar Chris Sacca told Fox Sports 1 talking head Colin Cowherd this past April, "There is a 100 percent chance Mark Cuban becomes president of the United States."
In the meantime, Cuban is best known as the outspoken owner of the Mavericks. In April 2013, he told TMZ, "There will be someone who comes out. It will be a great moment for sports. I would be honored if he was on my team. I think things have changed significantly, in that the players would accept him. I don't think there's any question that, even though all professional sports have had their homophobic missteps along the way, it's a new era and a new generation, and the player would be accepted."
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Later that same month, veteran Jason Collins became the first openly gay player in NBA history while still under contract with the Washington Wizards. "Good for Jason," Cuban told ESPNDAllas.com in an email at the time. "I hope this opens the door for other players to be honest about who they are."
In March 2015, Cuban pledged his support to Texas Wins, a non-profit organization dedicated to combatting LGBT discrimination. "I'm glad to see Texas Wins taking up the charge here and making a pro-business case to end discrimination in the Lone Star State," he said in a press release at the time. "I have little tolerance for discrimination in my businesses, nor do a majority of Fortune 500 companies. Texas is a beacon for business and should follow corporate America's lead on this one."
Cuban also applauded NBA referee Bill Kennedy when he came out publicly as gay in December 2015, shortly after erstwhile Mavericks and then Sacramento Kings point guard Rajon Rondo was suspended for allegedly spouting a series of homophobic slurs at the longtime ref during a game in Mexico City.
"We've been very clear there are certain terms you don't use ... period, end of story," Cuban told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram earlier this season. "It doesn't matter who you say it to. I can't speak to what happened with Rajon. I don't know, but things just aren't right and we try to live up to that."
So, when Omar Mateen used a semi-automatic assault rifle to murder 49 people early Sunday morning at Orlando's Pulse nightclub, less than two miles from the home of the NBA's Orlando Magic, Cuban put his money where his mouth is, making a tangible effort to combat LGBT discrimination.
“The Dallas Police Department thanks Mark Cuban,” Dallas Police Chief David Brown said in a press release. “These funds will be used primarily to protect the LGBT community. We will earmark and track the expenditure of these funds to ensure its effective use in creating a safe environment.”
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is a contributor for Ball Don't Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
