Cal Sports Report

Tip of the Cap to Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall, a Cal graduate

Marshall, the first Black female CEO in the NBA, wears her passion on her sleeve. She gave the keynote address at Cal’s graduation last month

Jake Curtis

Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall throws out the first pitch before a Texas Rangers game in 2022
Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall throws out the first pitch before a Texas Rangers game in 2022 / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
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The Dallas Mavericks fell short of an NBA championship, but they can’t blame their top executive, whose passion for the team has become legendary.

Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall, who graduated from Cal in 1981, became the first Black female CEO in the history of the NBA when Mark Cuban hired her for that position in 2018, even though she had no idea who Cuban was.

And though she is 64 years old, her passion for the Mavericks in the days leading up to the NBA finals resembled that of a college cheerleader, which is what she was at Cal.

Take a look at some videos of Marshall before and during the NBA Finals.

And this one is the best one:

OK, put me in, Coach. I’m ready run through walls.

Presumably she could make a pretty good living as a motivational speaker.  And she seemed like an inspirational force when she gave the keynote address at Cal’s 2024 graduation ceremonies in May. Here is a video of her speech, and note the numerous basketball analogies.

You will note in her address that she is a stage 3 colon cancer survivor.  She witnessed domestic abuse as a child growing up in Richmond, California.  In her book she revealed that she had three miscarriages, including one that nearly ended her life.  She also suffered the loss of a newborn daughter.  Marshall had husband eventually adopted four children, all of whom are grown now.

She was hired by Cuban following allegations of decades of sexual harassment and misconduct within the Mavs organization. She was lauded for what she has accomplished in that role. Marshall was named one of 15 of the world's most inspiring female leaders by Forbes in 2021. Marshall was named one of the Most Powerful Women in the Sports Business by Worth magazine in 2019.

Yet she still has the Unselfconscious passion of a college cheerleader, which is what she was at Cal, specifically one of the first Black cheerleaders at Cal.

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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