It was late in the fourth quarter and the game already decided, Rick Carlisle called his newest player and everyone inside the American Airlines Center thought the moment they've waited for all night would finally happen. However, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban stood up and had to pull Tony Romo away, to everyone's disappointment.
It would have been the perfect ending to a historic night as the Mavs honored the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback by making him their player for a day. Apparently, if Cuban had it his way, he would've asked their veteran head coach to put him in, but commissioner Adam Silver reportedly did not honor his contract, according to ESPN's Todd Archer. The 58-year-old billionaire also made it clear that it wasn't he who nixed the idea and that he knew it would've been great entertainment if Romo played in the final seconds of the game.
“I told him what I was going to do and said, ‘Fine me if you don't like it,'”
“Anybody who thinks a layup line is disrespectful, hasn't watched an NBA game. We've got people shooting half-court shots at every break, we've got kids for ball boys … We're entertainment. And if they're so self-important they can't recognize that, it's on them. Not me.”
Carlisle also chimed in on the situation but was more understanding of Silver's decision as he knows it would be a big risk to have the four-time Pro Bowler play.
“Signing him and stuff like that, would have been too much for a lot of reasons. No. 1, he's a football athlete that's not ready to play in an NBA game. That's very risky.”
“No. 2, to sign a guy with all of our requirements from a physical standpoint with the hours and hours of screening and all that kinds of other stuff, it just wasn't worth going there. And that's not really what this is about.”
Romo did not have any ill feelings for not being able to see action and thanked the Mavericks organization for the honor and opportunity given to him on the night.
“This is an honor I could never have dreamed of. It's a little embarrassing, but I tell you what I'm very lucky. Thank you, Dallas. I love you.”
The 36-year-old spent his entire career in Dallas and is considered a sports legend in the city. Although the Mavs' season did not go according to plan and missed out on the playoffs, having Romo with them as a player is definitely one of the highlights of their year, which has brought happiness to their fans as well.
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