Mark Cuban, Ted Cruz tangle on Twitter over national anthem and China

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and entrepreneur Mark Cuban got into a heated Twitter debate on Monday, arguing over issues like China and kneeling during the national anthem.

The dispute started when radio talk show host Mark Davis replied to a tweet about the NBA, saying “the minute one player kneels during the anthem, I am OUT,” and tagged Cuban, who owns the Dallas Mavericks.

Cuban simply replied, “Bye,” adding in another tweet, “If you want to complain, complain to your boss and ask why they don’t play the National Anthem every day before you start work.”

Cruz then screenshotted the tweet, without tagging Cuban, and criticized the Mavericks owner.

“NBA is telling everyone who stands for the flag, who honors our cops and our veterans, to ‘piss off’?  In Texas, no less?” Cruz wrote.

Cuban replied to Cruz’s tweet, telling the senator to “have some balls for once.”

“Speak to me. It’s my tweet,” Cuban added.

Cruz replied to Cuban’s remark by questioning his views on China.

The NBA and China had a contentious relationship last year after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey voiced solidarity with pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.

When Cuban didn’t immediately reply to Cruz, the senator tweeted a series of questions about China.

Cuban later replied by saying “Black Lives Matter” and criticizing Cruz’s coronavirus response. He also linked to videos of himself criticizing China.

“Why is it, @tedcruz, that you take such pride in standing up to and speaking truth to the Chinese, but you have no ability to stand up to and speak the truth to @realdonaldtrump?” Cuban added.

Cruz ended the argument by asking Cuban more questions about China and coronavirus.

“I agree there is a pandemic & we have taken extraordinary steps to defeat it. Where did that pandemic originate? Why did Communist China COVER UP the Wuhan outbreak & arrest whistle-blowers? And why are you terrified to say ONE WORD about China?” the senator tweeted.