5 things we learned from Episodes 5 and 6 of ‘The Last Dance’
2. Jordan’s reasoning for not speaking out on social issues
Between the constant crowds, sky-high expectations, worldwide renown, jam-packed schedule, nonstop media coverage and public scrutiny every time he did something that wasn’t exactly what everyone wanted from him, being “like Mike” was a gargantuan proposition.
“I wouldn’t want to be like Mike,” Bulls PR director Tim Hallam said. “It’s an impossible task.”
This is certainly on display in Episodes 5-6, which hone in on the gambling controversy, “The Jordan Rules” and the criticism Jordan received for not using his platform to be more of an advocate for important social issues. For example, Jordan was criticized for not publicly supporting Democrat Harvey Gantt, an African-American, in his race for the senate against Jesse Helms, a deplorable Republican candidate.
I’m proud of Jordan for addressing the Senate GOP race in this piece. A lot of us felt some kind of way at the time, and he didn’t have to get into this hot topic at all.
— exhoopsprguy (@exhoopsPRguy) May 4, 2020
We finally hear from him in detail. #TheLastDance
“Any African-American in this society that sees significant success has an added burden, and a lot of times, America is very quick to embrace a Michael Jordan or an Oprah Winfrey or a Barack Obama so long as it’s understood that you don’t get too controversial around broader issues of social justice,” former president Barack Obama said.
Given how vocal today’s NBA stars are on social issues, Jordan’s refusal to get involved with public stances on political and social issues is a stark contrast that paints him in a worse light.
“I do commend Muhammad Ali for standing up for what he believed in, but I never thought of myself as an activist,” Jordan explained. “I thought of myself as a basketball player. I wasn’t a politician when I was playing my sport, I was focused on my craft. Was that selfish? Probably, but that was where my energy was.”
I don’t believe everyone with a public platform should be forced into a role they aren’t comfortable with. I respect MJ for recognizing he wasn’t built for commenting on politics and not forcing it. If that’s you, go for it. But shouldn’t be expected.
— Nate Jones (@JonesOnTheNBA) May 4, 2020
Should Jordan have tried to make more of a difference given his worldwide renown? Undoubtedly. But even though prominent sports figures like Ali, Bill Russell and LeBron James deserve a ton of credit for using their platforms to speak out about important issues, none of them came saddled with the same kind of constant, global expectation to be nothing short of perfect.
“It’s never gonna be enough for everybody, I know that, I realize that,” Jordan said. “‘Cause everybody has a preconceived idea in terms of what they think I should do and what I shouldn’t do. The way I go about my life is I set examples. And if it inspires you, great. I will continue to do that. If it doesn’t, then maybe I’m not the person that you should be following.”