Hall Of Shame

Talk about a change in tune.

It wasn’t that long ago that most of the country was singing along with the snappy jingle in the Gatorade commercial “Like Mike, if I could be like Mike”. I am certain there are still a few die-hard fans that will hold that same reverence for unquestionably one of the greatest basketball players of all time. But I am equally certain that Michael Jordan’s induction speech into the Basketball Hall of Fame has even more switching their tune.

During his playing days Jordan was the embodiment of God-given gifts, well honed skill and interminable desire. He led the Chicago Bulls to a handful plus one of championship rings and held the citizenry of the Windy City in the palm of his ball-clinching hand. Sports fans from around the world knew his name and Chicago Bulls hats and number 23 jerseys were a fashion staple in places that had never seen a basketball prior to Jordan’s reign. I remember on numerous occasions seeing pictures of natural disaster victims from tiny little hamlets in third world countries waiting in line for Red Cross relief packages wearing Chicago Bulls baseball caps. His impact on sports around the world was immense; his impact on sports marketing was even greater.

That has been the key to success for Michael Jordan. He has made far more money off the court than he did on it. Even after losing the record amount of $168 million in a different kind of court, this one of the divorce variety, and having lost millions gambling and tens of millions in unsuccessful real estate deals, Jordan remains one of the wealthiest men in sports history. His marketing of the Michael Jordan name has been pure gold and continues to rake in cash through his endorsements of everything from golf equipment to underpants. Michael Jeffery Jordan was a winner and continues to be one almost everywhere but a casino or a golf course. So how is it that after all this triumph and adulation he chooses to be as petty and vindictive as he was successful?

Jordan’s acceptance speech into the Hall of Fame was so filled with cheap, narcissistic vitriol that it made this six foot six inch MVP millionaire look small. By the time he had finished it was apparent that even enshrining him into basketball immortality was not enough to soothe this savage ego. The only thing missing from his acceptance was a request to build a separate Hall of Fame just for him.

He demeaned players and team owners alike and made it clear that as far as he was concerned, he was the only thing that concerned him. He slammed Bulls GM Jerry Krause and Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf even though they treated him like royalty and arranged for his two year stint in minor league baseball for what I am still convinced was a secret gambling suspension. He slammed just about every player of note he ever played against and commended almost no one. He even went so far as to fly in his old high school teammate Leroy Smith to introduce him to the podium. This honor was not offered out of friendship for Smith but rather as a final slam to his old high school basketball coach Pop Herring, who kept Smith on the varsity squad over Jordan during his sophomore year. He admonished his coach and aired this nearly 30 year old resentment saying “I just wanted to make sure you understood: You made a mistake, dude.”

Some reporters have stated that the rambling bitch session was done mostly in good natured fun. They were either blinded by Jordan’s celebrity or by one too many pre-ceremonial cocktails. There was nothing good natured or funny about Jordan’s performance. Instead it was actually very sad.

Of course Jordan does not have to worry about his comments or the public reaction to them. He has enough money and fame to carry him through for the rest of his days. But it is depressing to see what happens to man when everything is just not enough.

Perhaps Jordan could sign on to do commercials for Avis. Maybe have him running through an airport, leaping over chairs to catch his flight while adoring fans chant “Go MJ Go”. Avis used to have another celebrity making those commercials but he also had a problem that having everything was just not enough.

He’s not with them anymore.