Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban doesn’t couch his opinions or tend to hold his tongue, and the forthright billionaire has flapped his trap about “scam” energy bracelets that have been using the NBA’s “Q rating” to make sales.
Mark Cuban is referring to plastic “Power Balance” bracelets that resemble a Livestrong wristband, but have purported to use “holograms” to enhance athletic ability. (We are not kidding — if you haven’t seen the product, it’s actually a $15 plastic band that is supposed to magically make you more sporty, or something.)
Mark Cuban is just as unimpressed with the bracelets as you probably are, and he was caught in a recent YouTube video excoriating the NBA for helping to market the “scam” product.
In the clip, posted by Cuban to YouTube, he grabs a bunch of the Power Balance bracelets and says:
“See this stuff? … It was a scam when they were on Shark Tank . It’s still a scam. I don’t care if the NBA was dumb enough to sign an agreement, this is going where it belongs.”
Cuban then dumps the display of bracelets in the garbage and quips:
“But have no fear, we do recycle … What are you thinking, NBA?”
By Monday, Mark Cuban had not walked back on his anti-endorsement of the Power Balance bracelets, and even went so far as to say that he has banned the wristbands from the Mavericks’ locker room. The NBA branded versions of the product retail for $33.
The NBA has not addressed Mark Cuban’s very public critique of the Power Balance partnership.
