Pot calls Kettle Black - probably because Pot can't dunk
From that sentinel of outspoken, courageous, and passionate social advocacy (as long as its well, you know, not too liberal or too anti-establishment), the New Republic, a criticism of Michael Jordan. Apparently, Jordan isn't only a sinner against liberalism because of his "creepily pathological need to win." (Yeah, right around 1982 I got a sick sense about the damage that might do.) But he's also a sicky-poo because he didn't campaign against Jesse Helms or otherwise get very involved in politics, which you know, famous black people have to do...or else.
Here's a little mental experiment - go back to pre-1984, think about who the most marketable athletes are and who are considered the greatest clutch players of all time. Sure, maybe you get OJ Simpson as a marketable athlete (that worked out well) and Reggie Jackson as Mr. October, but you wouldn't find many black athlete's getting much respect from Madison Avenue and no black athlete since Bill Russell had been considered a consummate winner (White Men Can't Jump had America's perspective - "they'd rather lose pretty than win ugly").
Jordan changed all that, first by becoming the most marketable human being on the planet - the guy talks rich white guys out of $15,000 just to make them look stupid for a few hours at fantasy basketball camps. Then he won six NBA titles and, well, Tom Brady may try, but he ain't ever going to be such a mortal lock on championships. And Jordan's parlayed his success into being one of the most successful post-career athletes in America - its been over 7 years since he played his last playoff game, and he's still frequently seen on TV in ads, he may still be the most marketable athlete in the world.
This all may seem like trivial stuff, but it put a black face on success, while he was one of many, he's the most famous. He showed corporate America that white people would buy products being sold by someone who looked different. And I have little doubt, he changed the minds of some of those white folks in the process. In his footsteps, minority athlete's have been able to land marketing gigs that before Jordan weren't available.
I'm not the biggest fan of these ads, but to the extent the marketing contracts createwealth in America, Michael Jordan has had a significant impact on making sure that wealth is created in the black community. And ultimately, some of this wealth will go back into the black community, in the form of charitable donations from athletes.
Jordan was not Jackie Robinson. But for those who obviously haven't noticed, America in the 1990s was not America in the 1940s and 1950s. Jordan wasn't exactly being told to go to a different hotel from his white teammates on the road. There is a point at which the failure to speak out about injustice is not in fact a mortal test of one's character. And, though we've got lots to speak out about these days, I think it'd be nice if a magazine which is prone to advocating policies which do little about these injustices would use a little introspection before condemning silence.
And, in light of the tone which TNR sometimes takes in chastising those too "fuzzy-headed" liberals with whom it disagrees, its probably best not to snark at someone elses "often-sneering attitude towards rivals."
Ohh, and by the way, anyone who wants to call MJ for a shove on Byron Russell should spend a while watching Karl Malone's move to the hole, every damn time he posted up. One hand-check versus about 50 shoulder rolls - whose the dirty player? Is there something ethically pure about repeatedly running the other guy over and then shooting over his falling body?
Here's a little mental experiment - go back to pre-1984, think about who the most marketable athletes are and who are considered the greatest clutch players of all time. Sure, maybe you get OJ Simpson as a marketable athlete (that worked out well) and Reggie Jackson as Mr. October, but you wouldn't find many black athlete's getting much respect from Madison Avenue and no black athlete since Bill Russell had been considered a consummate winner (White Men Can't Jump had America's perspective - "they'd rather lose pretty than win ugly").
Jordan changed all that, first by becoming the most marketable human being on the planet - the guy talks rich white guys out of $15,000 just to make them look stupid for a few hours at fantasy basketball camps. Then he won six NBA titles and, well, Tom Brady may try, but he ain't ever going to be such a mortal lock on championships. And Jordan's parlayed his success into being one of the most successful post-career athletes in America - its been over 7 years since he played his last playoff game, and he's still frequently seen on TV in ads, he may still be the most marketable athlete in the world.
This all may seem like trivial stuff, but it put a black face on success, while he was one of many, he's the most famous. He showed corporate America that white people would buy products being sold by someone who looked different. And I have little doubt, he changed the minds of some of those white folks in the process. In his footsteps, minority athlete's have been able to land marketing gigs that before Jordan weren't available.
I'm not the biggest fan of these ads, but to the extent the marketing contracts createwealth in America, Michael Jordan has had a significant impact on making sure that wealth is created in the black community. And ultimately, some of this wealth will go back into the black community, in the form of charitable donations from athletes.
Jordan was not Jackie Robinson. But for those who obviously haven't noticed, America in the 1990s was not America in the 1940s and 1950s. Jordan wasn't exactly being told to go to a different hotel from his white teammates on the road. There is a point at which the failure to speak out about injustice is not in fact a mortal test of one's character. And, though we've got lots to speak out about these days, I think it'd be nice if a magazine which is prone to advocating policies which do little about these injustices would use a little introspection before condemning silence.
And, in light of the tone which TNR sometimes takes in chastising those too "fuzzy-headed" liberals with whom it disagrees, its probably best not to snark at someone elses "often-sneering attitude towards rivals."
Ohh, and by the way, anyone who wants to call MJ for a shove on Byron Russell should spend a while watching Karl Malone's move to the hole, every damn time he posted up. One hand-check versus about 50 shoulder rolls - whose the dirty player? Is there something ethically pure about repeatedly running the other guy over and then shooting over his falling body?
posted by SebbyMan at 8:35 PM
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