• Michael Jordan once made a bold claim about racial discrimination against White players in the NBA
• Jordan believed White players would be overlooked in favor of Black athletes
• Jordan has been relatively quiet on racial issues in his career
Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time and has one of the biggest platforms any athlete has enjoyed in the world. He has a billion-dollar sneaker business and can influence real change in society. Jordan has been hesitant to use his voice to champion racial equality in recent years but as a youngster, Jordan had criticized the scouting of White players compared to Black players.
“That’s a lot to be asking from this society and how people do things nowadays… I have White friends who wouldn’t get picked up because they didn’t feel like they would play as well as Black guys would. That’s not fair, but it happens.”
Rare video of Jordan speaking about racial discrimination… about how white people are the victims.
Nah they LOVE this dude, Bron ain't the one for them lmao. pic.twitter.com/eNS6mjzNL2
— NBAStatGuy (@NBAStatGuy_) September 14, 2023
Jordan’s GOAT status has been cemented by his performances on the court, not what he says off the court. Despite that, fans are right to feel upset at Jordan’s silence when it comes to championing messages on behalf of Black athletes.
Michael Jordan Has Been Criticized For Not Commenting On Racial Inequality Before
Jordan hasn’t used his platform like modern NBA stars who make political statements very often, criticizing race relations and the treatment of Black people in society. Jordan once claimed that ‘Republicans buy sneakers too‘ when asked to support a Democratic nominee to unseat a conservative Senator Jesse Helms, in the ’90s. The Senator had controversially opposed the Federal Integration Policy, something that would impact the lives of common Black people.
Even Carmelo Anthony called out Jordan for his silence on race issues in 2016 and claimed it’s time that Jordan started being more active.
“About time that he stepped up. At the end of the day, amongst us, he is our face. He’s a very powerful African-American. So for him to step up in the midst of these times now, it was very big.”
Jordan’s interactions with pop culture figures have also been scrutinized. Jordan is not a fan of rap music and once told rapper Method Man and Redman ‘f**k’ rap when they tried interacting with him at a Def-Jam party. Jordan does have a strong relationship with fellow Black billionaire Jay-Z.
Jordan was also criticized by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for picking commerce over conscience with his silence on race matters to protect his billion-dollar empire. Jordan did ultimately donate over $2 million to help victims impacted by police-related shootings.
Michael Jordan’s On-Court Legacy Is Unquestionable
Jordan may have irked people with his lack of social commentary over his career and post-retirement life, but nobody can ever use that to take away from what he achieved on the court. Jordan averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 2.3 steals over the course of his career and established himself as the greatest to ever step onto a court.
Even if LeBron James has come close to surpassing Jordan, it’s impossible to conclusively say he has done so. James is still active, so if he can win a championship in the final years of his career, his argument becomes more convincing.
Over his 18-year NBA career, Jordan was named to 11 All-NBA teams, nine All-Defensive Teams, and 14 All-Star Games. That barely scratched the surface, as Jordan is a five-time league MVP, six-time NBA Finals MVP, 10-time scoring champion, and a one-time Defensive Player of the Year.
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