Mark Cuban tells Sen. Ted Cruz to 'have some balls for once' over national-anthem dispute

• A Twitter feud between Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Mark Cuban, the owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, escalated on Monday morning, with Cuban telling Cruz to "have some balls for once."
• Cuban took exception to a talk-radio host saying he would be off the team's bandwagon "the minute one player kneels during the anthem."
• That caught Cruz's attention. "Really??!?" the senator tweeted. "NBA is telling everyone who stands for the flag, who honors our cops and our veterans, to 'piss off'? In Texas, no less?"
• "Have some balls for once @tedcruz," Cuban tweeted. "Speak to me. It's my tweet."

Everything is bigger in Texas, the saying goes, including the Twitter beef.

A bitter Lone Star State showdown escalated on Monday morning when Mark Cuban, the entrepreneur and owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, told Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas to "have some balls for once."

The spat started when Cuban dunked on a talk-radio host who said he would be off the Mavs bandwagon "the minute one player kneels during the anthem," referring to the anti-racism protest championed by the former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Cruz took exception to Cuban's anthem stance, posting a screenshot of Cuban's "bye" tweet and adding commentary.

Cuban demonstrated little patience for Cruz's quip.

Cruz responded with a series of questions about Cuban's views on China.

The NBA has developed a tenuous relationship with the nation as the league tries to cultivate a bigger fan base overseas. In October, that feud blew up after a team's general manager tweeted support for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.