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NBA Allegedly Refused To Let New Mavericks Owner Miriam Adelson Be Team Governor Due To Her Political History

Originally posted on Fadeaway World
By Ishaan Bhattacharya | Last updated Jun 12, 2024 1:16 AM ET

The Dallas Mavericks underwent a mid-season ownership change, as Mark Cuban sold a majority stake in the team for a valuation of $3.5 billion to Miriam Adelson and the Las Vegas Sands. Adelson was not named the team's Governor, as the role went to her son-in-law Patrick Dumont. Reputed analyst Pablo Torre revealed on his show that the NBA allegedly blocked Adelson from taking the role due to her political history.

"Her political reputation was apparently so radioactive that the NBA and Commissioner Adam Silver would not let her be the Governor of the team. Miriam's son-in-law, Patrick Dumont, an executive at her casino company was appointed Givernor of the Mavericks instead."

Torre alleges that the NBA's left-leaning ideology led to them blocking the leading contributor to former President Donald Trump's 2020 Presidential campaign from becoming a team governor.

"The reason why the ostensibly left-leaning NBA insisted on this is obvious once you set your foot outside of sports because nobody donated more money to Donald Trump in 2020 than Miriam Adelson. And few people in right-wing politics, period, are as powerful as she is."

An interesting point was brought up about Kyrie Irving's silence in this matter, given his public political views are completely contrarian to what Adelson stands for.

"She also happens to be one of the most pro-Israel activists alive today by any standard, even though everyone in sports is ignoring Miriam Adelson right now. This includes Kyrie Irving, who is the athlete most associated with anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists and his positions on Israel and Palestine."

When Miriam Adelson bought the Mavericks last year, sources tell @PabloTorre that the NBA and Adam Silver would not allow her to be the franchise's primary owner, or governor, because "her political reputation was apparently so radioactive."

"The reason why the ostensibly… pic.twitter.com/ruDNnJELFx
— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) June 11, 2024

This has been an open secret since Adelson bought the team from Cuban earlier this season. Her politics aren't a secret, so everyone entered this relationship with a complete understanding of the parties involved.

The NBA's Board of Governors happily passed the sale through, so the allegations of a larger conspiracy to limit the power Adelson can have because of the NBA's own political standing is a little far-fetched. She has all the power she needs as team owner and being the public-facing governor won't really alter her influence.

If the NBA trying to block Adelson from being governor is true, this is performative activism on the NBA's part. Restricting Adelson from being a Governor but not intervening in the sale of the team is weird. Also, what difference does it make? Is Patrick Dumont somehow on the opposite end of the political spectrum? It's just an odd situation.

A likelier explanation for why Patrick Dumont was named the Governor is simply age, as Adelson is turning 79 years old this year. Regardless, both Dumont and Adelson have kept Cuban around to run basketball operations for them.

Adelson and Dumont have inherited a winning project, though they bought the team after their failure to make the 2023 Playoffs and reaping the rewards of an unexpected Finals run. They have made smart moves so far, stressing on the continuity the team has already established by extending the contracts of both head coach Jason Kidd and GM Nico Harrison.

Miriam Adelson is the third-richest owner in the NBA, only trailing Steve Ballmer (Los Angeles Clippers) and Ann Walton (Denver Nuggets).

This article first appeared on Fadeaway World and was syndicated with permission.

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