NBA / Sep 10, 2009 / 11:47 am

Not Everyone Loves Michael Jordan

By

Michael Jordan
Tomorrow, the national sports media will be all about all things Michael Jordan (come here for our own special coverage – not only will we be at the ceremony, but we will also be rolling out our own unique MJ content that will be different from the same stuff you can get at every other outlet). And with good reason.

And you can bet that 99.9% of all coverage will be of the loving/adoring/fawning variety, with lots and lots of video montages of Mike exacting his wrath on legions of NBA opponents. But not everyone will be up for blindly celebrating MJ and his legacy, most notably fans of the Washington Wizards, also, arguably, for good reason. For example, take the piece posted on BulletsForever today by Mike Prada, who, like many (if there are actually “many”) Wizards fans out there, is asking himself, “How should I feel about this?”

While Prada recognizes and gives unequivocal respect to Mike’s Bulls playing career, MJ’s Wizards hit list, when laid out so starkly, is quite frankly a train wreck. From the post:

But I also can’t help but feel bitter about his time in DC, a tenure dominated by Jordan often putting his own interests above the good of the team. Maybe he meant well, maybe he didn’t, but it’s tough to deny that Jordan did not elevate the Wizards to a level that anyone should be proud of. Two straight 37-win seasons are a failure, even for the Wizards.

During Jordan’s tenure as an executive and a player, he made the following wrong moves:

* He drafted Kwame Brown
* He hired Leonard Hamilton
* He traded Rip Hamilton for Jerry Stackhouse
* He hired a coach proven to stink at handling young players (Doug Collins), even though he had a young team.
* He forced the Wizards to play a half-court style that benefited him, but did not necessarily benefit guys like Rip Hamilton, Courtney Alexander, Kwame Brown and Tyronn Lue.
* He balked at coming off the bench at the start of the 2002/03 season, instead forcing his way into the lineup and messing up his best free agent’s confidence (Larry Hughes).
* He didn’t do a great job of sharing the spotlight with his co-star, whether it was Rip Hamilton or Jerry Stackhouse.

Those are just a few. He had some successes, but the bottom line is that he mostly failed.

Decades from now, how will history remember MJ’s Wizards legacy?

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  • David_Brandon

    @chicagorilla and yoooo,

    chicago, it has been a minute since it was just intellectual arguments instead of ppl wildin’ out. i dont really get into those too much. i’ve had my share of ppl talkin crazy to me on here tho and try to wrap those up asap. anyway, its good to see ppl just talkin about another side of hoop, which is giving back. if it wasnt so important, then why’s the nba have the “nba cares” program or the “read to achieve”? just small examples, but still have the power to affect on a big level. you named a lot of big names that have influence, but none have the influence that mike had and still has. my thing is simply this: no other ethnic group has been impoverished as the african american community. a lot of us have just succumbed to the idealogies of what we SHOULD be instead of what we were or can be. there’s soooo much more to say on this, but it turns from statement to lecture so fast, i’ll just leave it at that. bottom line of this particular conversation that yoooo brought up, is that mike CAN do a lot more w/ his status to help out a community that mike is from. he knows how bad the hood is. it doesnt take al harrington to make $40 hoop shoes to know that jordans are overpriced.

    yoooo,
    we gotta talk man cause i’m trying to do similar things in sacramento. since the kings suck so bad, i figure we need SOMEthing good to happen here! lol i’m curious how you got some things started up over there, so holla at your boy. and when i’m your way, i wanna check out the event man! i’ll bring triscuits or something to contribute lol! or cheese…i know some ppl love cheese. hahahahaha

  • David_Brandon

    magic does do a lotta stuff to help out…but he did do that rent a center commercial. thats some mc hammer type stuff =P

    at least we have oj tho………………LOL
    ok ok ok…i’ll stop!

  • Yoooo

    David_Brandon email me RodneyRikai@gmail.com

  • BT

    @ Yooooo

    For the first time I am compelled to reply on a comment board. It is not that I do not agree with your points or question their validity; rather what bothers me is your vitriol and self-righteousness about a man you know only a little about. He could have a AAU team through a foundation that no ones knows about, or maybe he simply believes they are a waste of time that negates the rationality of basketball that he grew up with. My point is not to argue whether he does too much or too little, but that there is no point in judging him. I applaud you for the work you do in your own community and elsewhere, but that alone should be satisfaction enough and should not require bashing an American myth like MJ.

    Also, having a blogspot does not mean shit. Not to cause offence, but I could create one about my pubes that look like American Presidents if I so wished. Your work is what matters.

  • Lonman

    To #19…WTF! Did nothing for the black community? Are you that much of a dumb azz????? He did boatloads for EVERY community. Jeez, get off the bandwagon! The comments up to that point were about his good and bad points on the court…then you have to go and turn it into racism. get a life loser!

  • BT

    Rationality = Regionalism

    Damn spell check

  • Yoooo

    BT thanks for your input. As far as my .blogspot, I am in the process of developing my web page now and through the .blogspot up as a trial run. As you can see I bought the web name and i dont give out menwithgirls.blogspot.com because very soon it wont be that. So ur slight doesn’t really effect me. I’m well on my way…

    As far as Jordan being involved in “secret” AAU teams… knock it off… any team with any affiliation with Jordan would possibly require their team to tattoo his logo on their arm as theyd be SUPER geeked. Like I said I’m ON the AAU circuit while you’re just talking hypothetically. I doubt your black so as AB said earlier, if you don’t understand it, you NEVER will. So I’m not going to defend my stance to you, its pointless. Your entitled as am I..

    Lonman I can tell you’re someone with a limited view so this is as much attention as you get from me: No Response

  • BT

    @Yoooo

    I think you missed my point. I wasn’t trying to suggest that there was some mystical Jabberwocky-like Jordan AAU team. What I was trying to convey was that he has no obligation to reveal what charitable work he does or that any charitable work he might do could even be casually found. My point was more that just because you do work in your own community, you have no right to dictate how he should work in his or even assume you have a complete picture of the impact he has on various communities. I am all for not creating demi-gods of athletes, but there has to be an understanding that they are under amazing scrutiny and bashing them for what they are not doing is not as productive as supporting what they are doing.

    As to my race, how the hell does that matter? I am not black, but saying that my not being black completely and irrevocably refutes my ability to comment on black subjects is slightly retarded. That’s like me saying because your not white, you have no hope in hell of ever understanding why Walt Disney was a bastard. Whatever a man does regardless of his race is his own decision and can only be judged by his own consciousness and whatever God (or lack of) that he believes in.

  • Yoooo

    Actually because Im not white I TOTALLY understand how much of a bastard Walt Disney was…

    But because you’re not black you can’t understand this issue. You’re speaking without any insight, without any real true sentiment regarding the matter. Every culture has issues and things that another culture will NEVER understand.

    Im being honest with this one. It’s not because you’re not black that you can’t understand this one, it’s because you haven’t been exposed that I can’t respect your opinion on the matter. There are cultural differences man, I’ll never get why white people love egg salad and Lindsey Lohan so much. And you’ll never understand why I want black people, men especially, to give back to those who don’t have… If you’re offended, idk what to tell you to. it’s just one of those things…

  • BT

    @ Yooooo

    I’m certainly not offended, you are of course entitled to your opinion. Although you are being presumptive that I have not been exposed; as to what I am not sure as you do not define as to what I have to have been exposed to.

    However, let me tell you what I have seen. I spend my entire day working for ALL the children of NYC. So they have free books and a place to learn and study in safety, and by the way disadvantaged children come in every color. I have also spend time every Christmas helping my family with their various charitable causes (a homeless shelter in downtown Atlanta and Open Hand, a wonderful organization that does outreach to terminal AIDS victims), so I do think I am qualified to make a statement on the nature of philanthropy and the plight of the less fortunate.

    The fact that you can’t accept my opinion on this matter shows that you are actually the racist. By automatically assuming because I am white that I cannot understand the plight of anyone else you have created a textbook stereotype. Although yes I do like egg salad, but not Lohan.

    P.S. I guess everyone can understand Walt Disney was a bastard.

  • Yoooo

    It’s cultural differences man. I see them, I say them. It’s not disrespect. and it certainly isn’t racist… But you dont have the perspective that I would need in order to take heed to what you’re saying regarding this. Stereotypes exist man, what are you gonna tell me they don’t? Most Black guys like chicken, most white guys enjoy egg salad. Growing up its way more tolerable for a white kid to come out of his mouth wrong to his parents, where as black parents don’t even let you think you can. It’s not in EVERY instance of course, but these things are true. I’m not racially nervous or unconscious at all, I’m aware of what IS. I say what I feel, I call a spade a spade… Why should I walk on eggshells about things that I think in my mind?

    If you think I’m a racist than whatever, I’m not about breaking my neck to prove something to some guy on the internet. I have an opinion on what I thought Michael Jordan should do for mine and HIS people and I stick by it. Whether you agree or disagree is totally up to you. Much success with all of your charitable work.

  • BT

    Of course there are cultural differences, what I object to is the assumption that I as a white man can not have the proper perspective on a black issue. Is perspective by your definition simply defined by being black?

    As to stereotypes, of course they exist but that does not mean they have to be correct. You assume as a white child I could talk back to my parents, but as the son of a Navy man I can assure that was not the case. Its the assumption that is the problem, not the stereotype. Nor do I think you should walk on eggshells, rather just not leap to conclusions based on race. Its one thing to speak your mind, to call a spade a spade so to speak, but its quite another to dismiss someone else outright.

    Nor do I think you are a racist, you are clearly just passionate about the subject as am I although perhaps a bit quick to dismiss the opinions of a white man on a “black” issue. I guess our point of difference is that while you have an opinion on how Jordan should conduct himself in your (not particularly comfortable phrasing it that way) community, my opinion is that no one has a clear enough picture of what he actually does or thinks as a basis to form such an opinion. Even if I do agree he should spend much more time doing anything more constructive than playing golf or gambling.

    As to you, I wish you much success with your charitable work as well and I believe that is what we should both be concentrating on. Two ordinary men working hard for the betterment of everyone.

  • james p

    did larry hughes play on the wiz with jordan?i dont remember that.

  • elaly

    in 20 years, no one will remember mj ever playing for some team named the wizards…

  • Sweet English

    Everyone was on Kwame’s jock, unfortunately, you can’t draft players in hignsight.

  • http://www.nukedasouth.net Chicagorilla

    Jordan was not the GM. The GM is the one who makes the draft call. I saw M.Dunleavy on the phone this year making that call to Stern to draft B.Griffin. Same thing in Charlotte. MJ is not the GM. He’s President of Basketball operations of something like that. You can maybe knock him for hiring a bad GM, or bad trainer, or some crap like that. I think it’s just lames who don’t really pay attention to facts. I’m sure Jordan can tell a GM who he likes and would like to draft, trade for, sign in free agency or whatever. The point of a GM is to let them do thier job.

  • esocias

    It’s amazing to me that so many of the people that are commenting on Mike in the Wizards certainly did not see many games from this man in those two years. Also, it is a testament to what happens to athletes once they leave the game. I can assure you, that Mike had some monster games in Washington, games that I don’t think you saw too many superstars in that day have. And I’m telling you the crowd in D.C. was going absolutely nuts over MJ, if you don’t think so catch some game highlights of MJ with the Wizards in Youtube. I cannot believe people in Washington are now saying that he didn’t do anything in those years. Then we complaint when athletes have bad attitudes, what can you expect? It is proven that the crowds only love you when you are on top. I think his legend grew in his years at Washington, ask any superstar guard or small forward to play at 40…Iverson can’t even sign with a team and he is only 34, Jordan was winning his 5th title at that age. Michael Jordan is a sports phenomenon, stop trying to make him into the savior of a generation.

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