Well, it looks like there are more Jordan fans then I thought. Not only did some of my friends give me grief about my dislike of Michael Jordan, when I commented on a ESPN OTL article on Jordan (http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/page/Michael-Jordan/michael-jordan-not-left-building) that was published recently I received some serious heat. To be fair, while my first piece only looked at Jordan the franchise, my response on the OTL piece was considerably more focussed on Jordan the man. In sum I stated that although Jordan was considerable player on the court, I had some serious quams with Jordan’s off court behaviour (Well basically, I called him a failed human being because I absolutely cannot stand when a vile person is reverred and Michael Jordan might just be the most exemplary display of this revolting societal phenomena).
The following is my response to the heat taken and it begins with someone citing Michael Jordan’s “benevolent” “chartity” work (sorry those deserved thier own quotes:
Every athlete gives to charities, but giving to charities in one hand and taking the tax receipt in the other isn’t much. As Jim Brown said of Tiger Woods, as an athlete and a public figure just giving money ain’t nothing, what are you doing for your community personally? What rights are you standing upfor? What important stance are you taking for the people who need it?
Athletes today are so scarred of jeopardizing their brand that they don’t speak up on anything are a just content to get the tax write off or host a charity golf tournament which is paid for by sponsors and nets them only pats on the back.
However, that aspect is not unique to Jordan so I will not fault him for that, all athletes are like that.
What I am speaking of Jordan as a failed human being, is the way he treats others. He has looked down on others for years and treats everyone (inside or outside his inner circle) like dirt. For years the service industry pegged him as the worst and/or cruel celebrity going. He has let his feelings of inadequacy due to his perceived belief that his father loved his brother more turn to rage and manifest itself into a need to belittle or destroy others just to make himself feel big. For years this worked as millions of dollars, a circle of yesmen and the media constantly patting his back made himself feel invincible, but as the years since his retirement mount and others like LeBron and Kobe threaten his on court legacy, his feelings of inadequacy and resentment are only further crippling an already emotionally damaged individual. This is of course to say nothing of his absolute failure as an NBA owner which no doubt comounds the problem.
In sum, you ask me why MJ is failure I gave you my reasons. We are all asked on a daily basis to continually slurp a man who has not played a game of competiitive basketball in 15 years (his years in DC are a farce), why because the man can dribble a basketball and dunk? Please.
Jordan is not Gandhi and never will be. It is time for people and the sportsmedia to wake up and stop treating him like he is. All the trophy wives and expensive liquor are not enough to take the edge off when you are dead inside. Doubt me? Ask Jordan the last time he got a decent nights sleep.
