Mavericks owner Mark Cuban caused a stir this week after Inc. magazine published an interview with him in which he argued for greater tolerance for those who with prejudiced points of view. During the discussion, Cuban admitted being bigoted in many ways himself, referencing potentially avoiding a “black kid in a hoodie” on a dark street to illustrate his point. Though the reference was intended to be general and was followed by a hypothetical “white guy” with tattoos example, many took it as a direct reference to Trayvon Martin. Realizing his misstep, Cuban issued an apology to the Martin family, but stood by his comments on the need for greater tolerance.

The interview was spurred by the ongoing Donald Sterling saga, a situation that Cuban has commented on publicly a few times already. Before NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s ruling on Sterling—fining him $2.5 million, banning him for life, and declaring that his team would be taken from him (all of which Sterling is fighting legally)—Cuban had warned that forcing Sterling to sell his team was a “very slippery slope.” However, after Silver’s ruling, Cuban said he agreed wholeheartedly with the decision.

In the Inc. magazine interview Wednesday, Cuban expounded on his position, ultimately calling for a greater tolerance for those with prejudices and arguing that all of us suffer from them on some level:

In this day and age, this country has really come a long way putting any type of bigotry behind us, regardless of who it's toward. We've come a long way and with that progress comes a price. We're a lot more vigilant and we're a lot less tolerant of different views, and it's not necessarily easy for everybody to adapt or evolve.

I mean, we're all prejudiced in one way or another. If I see a black kid in a hoodie and it's late at night, I'm walking to the other side of the street. And if on that side of the street, there's a guy that has tattoos all over his face -- white guy, bald head, tattoos everywhere -- I'm walking back to the other side of the street. And the list goes on of stereotypes that we all live up to and are fearful of. So in my businesses, I try not to be hypocritical. I know that I'm not perfect. I know that I live in a glass house, and it's not appropriate for me to throw stones.

Reaction to what many perceived as a reference to Trayvon Martin was strong Wednesday and Thursday, making the rounds at ESPN’s various talk shows, including Pardon the Interruption.

In response to the pushback from the media, Cuban issued an apology via Twitter followed by a statement essentially reiterating the statement he made to Inc. magazine. Here’s the complete statement (issued over 5 tweets):

In hindsight I should have used different examples. I didn't consider the Trayvon Martin family, and I apologize to them for that. beyond apologizing to the Martin family, I stand by the words and substance of the interview. I think that helping people improve their lives, helping people engage with people they may fear or may not understand, and helping people realize that while we all may have our prejudices and bigotries we have to learn that it's an issue that we have to control, that it's part of my responsibility as an entrepreneur to try to solve it.

As ESPN reports, the annual GrowCo convention Wednesday, which was hosted by Inc., Cuban also said that there’s “no law against stupid” and that he’s one who says “don’t force stupid people to be quiet” because he wants “to know who the morons are.”

I'll try to give them a chance to improve themselves, because I think that helping people improve their lives, helping people engage with people they may fear or may not understand and helping people realize that while we all may have our prejudices and bigotries we have to learn that it's an issue that we have to control, that it's part of my responsibility as an entrepreneur to try to solve it, not just to kick the problem down the road. Because it does my company no good, it does my customers no good, it does society no good if my response to somebody and their racism and bigotry is to say, "It's not right for you to be here. Go take your attitude somewhere else."

Video via Inc. magazine.