Michael Jordan is one of the best basketball players to lace up sneakers. That's it. There's nothing more to say about one of the most fiercely competitive athletes of our time. His on-court accolades speak for themselves and no one can ever take that away.
If you want to argue about what Michael Jeffrey Jordan has accomplished on the court, his fiery personality, his will to win and annihilate you, by all means do so. There's just one thing you can't argue, his facetious attitude, bravado and egotistical mindset in "off-court" matters.
Michael only cares about his money and empire (which he can't take with him when his life is done). Sometimes he comes off as a tacky, tasteless man that people bow down to because of what he did on a 94 foot basketball court.
He picks and chooses who he wants to place nice with if it's for his gain off the court. He makes decisions based on family members and his college friends when it comes to business, not the best person for the job who has the experience.
His sneaker empire has changed the landscape of sports which has allowed the likes of athletes from all different sports and walks of life to have shoe deals from basketball to football, baseball and soccer. His sneakers surpass over a billion dollars yearly, years after he's retired and a new generation of kids are wearing his sneakers and apparel. Meanwhile, the majority of them have never watched a full game of what he's done on the court.
If we want to have conversations about the overall athlete all-time when it comes to global icon, affects culture, speaks on social issues, works tirelessly to bring a voice to major issues in the world, then we can bring Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Muhammad Ali and LeBron James into the conversation.
When people kill each other for Michael Jordan's sneakers, he never uttered a word of concern and still won't speak on it till this day. As long as Nike sends his checks, he's perfectly okay with the violence his empire causes among black and Latinos in the inner cities of America.
He doesn't care to speak on the inflation of his classic sneakers from his playing days compared to today. How at one time, the majority of his sneakers were $90-110 dollars in the 80s and 90s and now these sneakers are $250-300 dollars a pair as kids clamor to have a pair and can't even read and write.
The opportunities to take a stand were there. He was in control of his narrative and story but not once did he go to Nike executives and say, "enough is enough." He was the start of people camping out in front of Nike, Foot Locker, Footaction and Champs Sports sneaker and apparel stores, all to get a pair of his sneakers.
While he's affected culture in the sneaker and apparel industry, he's also affected the untimely deaths of so many because of his sneakers. I owned two pairs of his Jordan 4s as a young kid when they cost $90 dollars a pair. I had another pair of his sneakers that weren't part of his shoe line in my younger days but after that, I never bought a pair again.
We all praise this man and somehow forget of his failures because of his six championships (which was 25 years ago he won his last one). As a general manager of the Washington Wizards, he was a failure. As an owner of the Charlotte Hornets, he's been a failure because of his ego, need for control and constantly and consistently hiring the wrong people to run his franchise.
If you look at the lineage of draft picks from Adam Morrison to Frank Kaminsky, the hirings of his friends from the University of North Carolina, the inability to have consistent attendance of fans in the arena, it's fair to say, Michael Jeffrey Jordan isn't the most gregarious guy off the court.
Some people can't handle the fame and praise that comes their way. It was given to him at a young age and while he does give praise to those who came before him, he's sadly made the casual fan of basketball forget those who came before him. Bill, Julius, Magic, Larry, Kevin (McHale), Darryl, Earl, Walt, Jerry, Wilt, Lew (Kareem), Bob (Cousy), George, Willis, Bernard and so many others who were the pioneers of what this sport has become globally.
No one in his family or within his friends circle is going to tell him the truth about himself and who he is and has become. God forbid you have a falling out with a billionaire who you're on his payroll or will have access to his empire when he's dead and gone. No one has the cajones to say, "Michael, it's time to bury the hatchet with the rivals you had back in the day."
His ongoing feud with former NBA legend and champion Isiah Thomas that dates back to 1991 (you read that correctly) and his ongoing guile toward NBA legend and Hall of Famer in Charles Barkley for speaking the truth about how bad of an owner he is still lingers in the cold air of his aura.
Your former friend said something on national television that #1 Charles would've said it to your face and #2 most realists of the world were already thinking it and have said it among other fans of the game. Michael, you haven't been "great" at everything, no one is, that's the reality of life.
The fact that you're now looking to sell a large stake in the Charlotte Hornets is wonderful and I'm glad. The fans of North Carolina deserve a better product than what you're putting on the court. Tobacco Road is filled with great college basketball on the men's and women's side and now, it's time to give basketball fans a better team professionally.
Hopefully, there's a buyers market for a team that is in need of an overhaul, a restart and reset button. A team that has potential, but hasn't fulfilled it for numerous reasons and you're one of them.
Whatever you choose to do going forward, let's make sure it isn't basketball related. We as real fans no longer want to see you try to win in regards to basketball matters. You've proven you can do it on the court, that's enough for us. It's time to go enjoy the sunsets from your Florida home where you aired out your former teammate in Scottie Pippen on your documentary, "The Last Dance." The man who was part of those six rings you won while playing.
There's not enough money, accolades and ego that will get you any sympathy when it's all said and done. Your competing days are over my man, there are new sheriffs in town who are in the conversation for Greatest Of All-Time...
Jamell Crouthers
