Brian Cuban (born January 11, 1961) is an American attorney, author, speaker, and activist. He is an authority on male eating disorders, drug addiction, drug rehabilitation, and alcoholism. He is a lawyer and activist in the areas of

First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

issues and

hate speech Hate speech is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation". Hate speech is "usually thoug ...

. He is also the brother of Mark Cuban and resides in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

Early life and education

Cuban was born on January 11, 1961, in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. He grew up in Pittsburgh and attended

Mt. Lebanon High School Mt. Lebanon High School is a four-year, comprehensive high school located in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, with an enrollment of 1,801 students in grades 9–12 for the 2020–2021 school year. Its mascot is the Blue Devil. History The sc ...

. Cuban earned his undergraduate degree from

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State becam ...

and his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

Career

Drug addiction and alcoholism

Cuban is a recovering alcoholic and drug user and has maintained sobriety since 2007. In 2017, he wrote a book detailing some of his struggles with drugs,

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...

, rehab, and how each affects being in the legal profession, ''The Addicted Lawyer''.

Eating disorders and body dysmorphic disorder

A survivor of bulimia, Cuban has shared his experience with suffering and recovering from an eating disorder in nationwide speaking and television appearances, including a television interview with Katie Couric. In 2013, he wrote the book ''Shattered Image: My Triumph Over Body Dysmorphic Disorder''.

EyeOpener TV

Cuban is the segment host for “Brian Cuban’s Legal Briefs” on EyeOpener TV. EyeOpener is a syndicated morning show that covers news, weather, sports, and entertainment news. It runs every weekday morning and is currently syndicated in the following locations: KIAH-TV (Houston, TX), KDAF-TV (Dallas, TX), WSFL-TV (Miami, FL), WPHL-TV (Philadelphia, PA), KRCW-TV (Portland, OR) His "Legal Briefs" segment is available on EyeOpener's YouTube and their Facebook page for out of network location viewers.

Hate speech issues with Facebook

Cuban has been concerned about hate speech on Facebook. While commenting "As long as

here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Television * Here TV (formerly "here!"), a ...

are people, there will be hate speech. It’s the human condition," he has discussed hate speech issues in the cyber-bullying and

Holocaust denial Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: ...

areas with Facebook management. He concludes "At least in the brick and mortar world I can pull up the Constitution and Supreme Court opinions that guide me. That standard does not represent the beliefs of all Facebook users across the world but for better or worse that is the standard Facebook uses. It’s transparent. Emulate that aspect as well." He has been trying to have the pages with names such as "Holocaust: A Series of Lies" and "Holocaust is a Holohoax" removed from Facebook since 2008.

Fallen Patriot Fund

Cuban is the executive director of the Mark Cuban Foundation which directly supports the Fallen Patriot Fund. Mark Cuban started the Fallen Patriot Fund to help families of U.S. military persons killed or injured during the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

, personally matching the first $1 million in contributions with funds from the Mark Cuban Foundation.

Penn State sex abuse scandal

Cuban has been a repeatedly interviewed and quoted source for opinions about the

Penn State sex abuse scandal The Penn State child sex abuse scandal concerned allegations and subsequent convictions of child sexual abuse committed by Jerry Sandusky, an assistant coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team, over a period of at least fifteen years. ...

, Joe Paterno,

Jerry Sandusky Gerald Arthur Sandusky (born January 26, 1944) is an American retired college football coach and convicted serial child molester. Sandusky served as an assistant coach for his entire career, mostly at Pennsylvania State University under Joe ...

, and Penn State.

Personal life

He is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania (inactive) and Texas, specializing in First Amendment issues. He runs a blog calle
"The Cuban Revolution"
that he uses as a platform to discuss many First Amendment legal battles and news stories. He is an advocate of

medical marijuana Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restriction ...

. He is also an eating-disorder survivor and has authored a book about his lifelong struggle with body dysmorphic disorder. His brother is Mark Cuban, a well-known entrepreneur and billionaire investor who owns the NBA

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. Th ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuban, Brian 1961 births Living people American male bloggers American bloggers American cannabis activists American health activists American health and wellness writers American nonprofit executives Businesspeople from Pennsylvania Jewish activists Jewish American attorneys Pennsylvania lawyers Pennsylvania State University alumni Texas lawyers University of Pittsburgh School of Law alumni Writers from Pittsburgh American people of Romanian-Jewish descent 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American Jews