Mark Cuban, Jane Lynch and Stephen A. Smith to be Natty Light ‘commencement speakers’
On March 11, the NBA world dramatically came to a halt.
Across the spectrum of professional sports, athletes and team owners are doing what they can to help those affected by the deadly waves of COVID-19. There’s New Orleans Pelican forward Zion Williamson, who is covering the salaries of Smoothie King Center staff. Or Cleveland Cavaliers big Kevin Love, who donated $100,000 for staff at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. Familiar faces of the NBA, MLB, and NFL have been using both their money and their time to assist in any way they can.
And Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is no exception.
Cuban, who has been a dominating presence in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, has been using his quarantine-forced, free time to help as much as humanly possible. His latest contribution is being motivational to those college graduates who are not allowed to walk across the stage with their classmates in order to receive their hard-earned diplomas.
But Natty Light is going to change that in a creative, and social distancing friendly, sort of way by hosting a digital commencement ceremony, and Cuban is going to take part.
The Shark Tank investor, along with stars like actress Jane Lynch and sports commentator Stephen A. Smith are stepping up to the plate with Natty Light and have committed on giving speeches to the class of 2020 during the bash that will air on Facebook Live on May 14 at 7 PM ET.
“This won’t be a typical commencement with a drawn-out speech by someone you’ve never heard of,” the official press release reads. “A first-of-its-kind graduation experience, the event will bring together graduating seniors across the country and feature multiple speeches and sage advice from guests like entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, actress Jane Lynch (“Glee,” “The 40-Year-old Virgin”), sports commentator Stephen A. Smith and Barstool Sports CEO Erika Nardini.”
During this coronavirus pandemic, Cuban has been vocal how businesses and leaders should be handling these trying times and has even joined President Donald Trump’s panel to help reopen the economy along with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
This story was originally published April 16, 2020 at 12:57 PM with the headline "Mark Cuban, Jane Lynch and Stephen A. Smith to be Natty Light ‘commencement speakers’."