Mark Cuban, Mavs CEO bridge gap with WNBA’s Dallas Wings; catalyst for GEMS jersey partnership
Dallas Mavericks team owner Mark Cuban, center left, laughs as he interacts with Dallas Wings mascot "Lightning" during the second half of a WNBA basketball game against the Minnesota Lynx, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Tony Gutierrez]
DALLAS (AP) — Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall is the catalyst for a landmark jersey patch partnership with the NBA’s Dallas Wings. Mavs owner Mark Cuban says his team’s relationship with the Wings was “minimal” before he hired Marshall five years ago. The hiring came in the wake of the Mavericks scandal over a hostile workplace for women. Marshall is a big reason the Wings wear the Mavs GEM logo on their jersey. It’s part of a deal involving the NBA team’s initiative called “Girls Empowered by Mavericks.” The GEM program reaches more than 3,000 girls in the Dallas area, with camps, wellness clinics and workshops focusing on finances and leadership skills.
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FILE - Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, left, looks on as Cynthia Marshall, new interim CEO of the Mavericks, addresses the media, Monday, Feb. 26, 2018, in Dallas. What Dallas Mavericks owner called a “minimal” relationship between his NBA club and the WNBA’s Dallas Wings blossomed into something bigger after he hired CEO Cynt Marshall. A unique partnership that landed a Mavs logo on the Wings jersey is part of the rising visibility of the WNBA team, something they’d like to take further by winning their first playoff series since moving to the Dallas area.(AP Photo/Ron Jenkins, File)
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Ron Jenkins