the billionaire former sex-scandal NBA team owner in Harris’ campaign

Kamala Harris campaigned Thursday with Mark Cuban, the controversial billionaire and former Republican donor who was fined hundreds of thousands of dollars for reprimanding players and referees on the basketball court.

The vice president visited Milwaukee, Wis., flanked by the Shark Tank investor and entrepreneur who has grabbed headlines in recent years for alleged misconduct.

Mr. Cuban, 66, is a billionaire investor who rose to fame as one of the original “Sharks” on ABC’s startup reality show.

But he has also come under fire for his conduct as owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, when he racked up more than $1 million in fines from the NBA, largely for criticizing players and referees.

He sold his controlling stake in the team in December 2023, following a period of instability in the organization that involved a sexual misconduct investigation into several staff members. He was not personally accused of wrongdoing.

In September 2018, it announced it would pay $10 million to women’s and domestic violence organizations following a month-long staff investigation that included Terdema Ussery, Cuban’s former CEO.

Although he was not directly accused of sexual misconduct, the investigation criticized Cuban’s handling of the scandal and negotiated his payment to charities to avoid a fine.

Cuban apologized and told fans and staff he was sorry he “didn’t acknowledge that” during his 18 years at the helm.

Cuban was also personally accused of sexually assaulting a fan with whom he posed for a photo at a Portland bar in 2011.

An unnamed woman came forward to accuse Mr. Cuban of touching her inappropriately at the bar, but Mr. Cuban denied the charges and the charges were later dropped. He was also acquitted of insider trading charges brought by the SEC in 2008.

Cuban had considered his own presidential bid and has previously aligned himself with Republican candidates, but has come out in support of Ms Harris during the 2024 campaign.

In 2017, he said he would run for president as a Republican if he were single, describing himself as “socially a centrist but very fiscally conservative,” but criticized Donald Trump for his plans to cut taxes for Americans rich

On Thursday, he and Ms. Harris hosted a version of the Shark Tank show for business students at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

The Harris-Walz campaign said it was running with her to “highlight Vice President Kamala Harris’ vision for investing in small businesses and encourage supporters to vote early for Vice President Harris and Governor Walz.”

The accusations of misconduct before the court of Mr. Cuban’s streaks date back to 2005, when the NBA fined him $25,000 for running onto the court during a Mavericks game and criticizing officials.

The following year, he was fined another $250,000 for repeated misconduct. His fines total more than $1 million, and Cuban has said he is donating the value of his fines to charity.

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