DALLAS – The honors just keep on coming for Cynthia “Cynt’ Marshall.
Less than two months after historically being named the chief executive officer of the Dallas Mavericks, last Thursday Marshall received two prestigious honors in Sacramento, CA, when she was honored during two separate ceremonies on the floor of the California Assembly and the California Senate.
A product of Richmond, CA, Marshall was nearly speechless when recalling the two events.
Marshall said: “The different senators and assembly people and the chaplain, they went crazy just because they’re just so proud of this Richmond product who has made history in the NBA as the first African-American (woman) CEO of an NBA team.”
At first, Marshall had no intentions of attending the events. Until she received more information of what all it entailed.
“I didn’t want to go, but then they were calling and they said they felt like they were being snubbed,” Marshall said. “And you know me, that’s not my personality. But I don’t like the hype.
“Then somebody finally said (Mavs proprietor) Mark Cuban made history and the California policy makers are proud of it and they’re proud of you, you have to show up for this. So I literally landed in Sacramento that night, I went and did the two ceremonies and then I got right back on the plane and came back and I didn’t tell anybody.”
However, what transpired last Thursday in Sacramento leaked out.
“But here’s what was great,” Marshall said. “So I’m standing there on the floor and I have what I have on now. I wear this (Dallas Mavericks) pin with pride, so I had my Dallas Mavericks pin on the one side. And when I left California the governor had given me – 11 years ago – a gold pin in the shape of California.
“So I had my Dallas Mavericks pin on one side (on my lapel) and my California pin on the other side, and then they had a reception for me and I walked in and it was all Mavs. Mavs basketballs. Mavs balloons. Mavs everything. In the California legislature. Is that crazy? I said, ‘I have brought my two worlds together.’ ”
Marshall, who has a degree from the University of California-Berkeley in business administration and human resources management, was overwhelmed that the California State Legislature wanted to honor her.
“I thought it was just going to be one ceremony,” Marshall said. “I’m like, ‘OK, perfect. I just have to do this once.’
“I’m on the floor of the Assembly and the guy does his speech and he does his thing. Then they’re like, ‘OK, now we’ve got to go to the Senate so they can do their thing.’ Isn’t that cool?”
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