Sure, there are things we can learn from anyone who reaches such a pinnacle of success. Maybe we shouldn’t try being “like” anyone. Stars are as flawed as we are, and sometimes idolizing them blinds us to that fact. But we’ve even forgiven convicted rapist, Mike Tyson, so why not? Even Lance Armstrong fits to a degree, though he has not, and may never, enter into the “forgiveness” stage. Michael Jordan, Ray Lewis, Tiger Woods, LeBron James, Michael Vick, and so on. If they win, we forgive them for not being what they never weren’t. We demand them to be more than what they are, then we despise them for being what they aren’t. Jordan is fascinating in that he’s a perfect example of what the problem has become with the way we view the American athlete.
That being said, there are some things that were amazingly generous as well, such as his donating $100,000 of his salary as a Washington Wizard to the children of the victims of 9/11. As great a player as Jordan is, his character flaws are many. Many viewed the speech as “petty,” being more concerned with settling old scores than accepting the honor being bestowed on him.Īs the owner of the Bobcats, he reversed what appeared to be his position as a player, taking a hardline stance for a hard salary cap. He gave a scathing Hall of Fame speech, critical of Jerry Reinsdorf, Isiah Thomas and Jeff Van Gundy, among others. Tyson Chandler and Pau Gasol were the next two picks taken 1 flops in the history of the game, Kwame Brown. He drafted one of the biggest overall No.
He utterly failed as part owner and President of Basketball Operations for the Washington Wizards. His post-playing career has seen its share of failures. Now he's been hit with another paternity lawsuit, though it remains to be seen if there's any validity to it It’s hard to believe those two things aren’t connected. He paid hush-money to his lover, Karla Knafel, to keep silent about their affair.
He also had, what was at the time, the most expensive celebrity divorce in history. Some even speculate that his gambling issues might have been the real reason behind his first retirement. But as they were talking to me, I was wondering: Are you telling me that I can't play cards with friends for a little money anymore? Is that what you're saying? Are you saying that if you hear that I've been in a card game with friends, you`re going to kick me out of the NBA Should I not gamble with goons anymore? Yeah, I shouldn't gamble with goons. Was I gambling with goons who had bad reputations? Yeah, I was. In 1992, Jordan confessed to Chicago Tribune writer, Bob Greene, of his two and half hour sit-down with NBA Commissioner, David Stern and the other NBA bigwigs, Richard Esquinas, after being shortchanged on an alleged $1.25 million in gambling winnings from Jordan playing golf, wrote a book, Michael and Me: Our Gambling Addiction on the subject. His gambling problems were the first thing to surface. How could we not all want to be, ‘like Mike?”īut Jordan, for all his basketball skills, wasn’t the person that we’d all want to be. While I can’t find it online (it being from the early 90s and all), I have a distinct recollection of him being named as the most recognizable figure in the world, ahead of the Pope, Queen Elizabeth and Mickey Mouse.Īnd if that’s not enough for you, he rescued the planet from an alien invasion
He’s still hauling in $60 million a year in endorsement money, a full 15 years after he played (we don’t count the Wizards years). The products Jordan endorsed, Nike, Gatorade, Chevrolet and so on made money hand over fist off of him.įortune Magazine calculated his economic impact on the game as upwards of $10 billion.
That’s a total TV revenue increase of $877 million in one career. One year after he retired, the NBA was receiving $400 million a year from NBC and another $210 million from TNT/TBS. In Jordan’s rookie season the NBA received $23 million in broadcast rights form CBS and another $10 million in broadcast rights from TBS. It had an impact not only on the game, but on the way the whole world watched the game, quite literally. The way he “moved” and “grooved” were otherworldly. He was the most watchable player the league had ever seen.