Outspoken Owner
Outspoken billionaire and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has been charged with insider trading over the sale of 600,000 shares of Mamma.com. The SEC's lawsuit, filed today, did not specify what fines the commission intends to seek. Find out what other controversies have surrounded Cuban since he entered the sports world.
David Zalubowski, AP
Cuban, who became a billionaire by selling his company, Broadcast.com, to Yahoo! in 1999, purchased the Dallas Mavericks in 2000 for $285 million from H. Ross Perot Jr. The Mavericks were a floundering NBA franchise, having a small following and struggling on the court.
Paul Buck, AFP / Getty Images
Cuban became a very hands-on and accessible owner, spending his time on the court rather than up in the owner's box and running his own blog.
Ronald Martinez, Getty Images
Cuban's rise to ownership is considered the ultimate fan fantasy successfully coming true. He is an unapologetic fan not afraid to celebrate or scream at officials or players.
Roy Dabner, AP
However, because of his gregarious nature, Cuban has had his share of spats with NBA commissioner David Stern. The league has fined the owner more than $1.6 million for various comments and actions.
Bill Janscha, AP
After saying "I wouldn't hire him to manage a Dairy Queen" about the NBA's head of officiating in 2002, the company challenged Cuban to work in one of its stores for a day. Cuban accepted, and served frozen treats at a Texas location.
LM Otero, AP
Even Cuban's ex-players aren't spared his wrath. After former Maverick Michael Finley returned to Dallas in the 2005-06 season, the owner encouraged fans to shower him with boos.
Douglas C. Pizac, AP
One of his own players thought Cuban should take a lesser role one the sideline. Saying it was a "bit much" for him to be next to the bench, Mavs star Dirk Nowitzki said "he's got to learn how to control himself as well as the players do."
J. Pat Carter, AP
Cuban's biggest fine came after the 2006 NBA Finals. He was fined $250,000 for various transgressions during Game 5 as the Mavericks fell behind in a series they led 2-0 and eventually lost to Miami.
Stephen Dunn, Getty Images
Cuban has expressed some interest in expanding his sports franchise empire. The outspoken Mavericks owner submitted an initial bid of $1.3 billion to buy the Chicago Cubs in July 2008, despite published comments that he had "zero chance" of being allowed to buy the team.
Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images
Now, what in the name of the Duke Brothers does that actually mean? Well, here's the skinny: Cuban was invited to be an investor in Mamma.com, a conglomerate type of search engine start up company. He invested, back in 2004. However, Cuban dumped his entire investment in the company in 2004 after finding out from Mamma that their private funding money dipped by 10% , causing the company to offer their stock at a discounted price from the previous day's closing number. (In other words, everyone who owned the stock would take a tremendous loss.)
Since the SEC kind of frowns on investors using insider information to avoid financial losses, they've filed some charges against him.
The Commission's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, alleges that in June 2004, Mamma.com Inc. invited Cuban to participate in the stock offering after he agreed to keep the information confidential. The complaint further alleges that Cuban knew that the offering would be conducted at a discount to the prevailing market price and that it would be dilutive to existing shareholders.
FedEx (
