Michael Jordan’s life is an open book and gives everything. Its chapters have been written at voracious speed and with a global impact. The furor for “The Last Dance”, the 10-episode documentary that has already been released for six, is how they mark it. Of course, not everything is glitter around the “23” of the Chicago Bulls. And it was clear in a counterpoint that he had for his “apolitical” position, which was worth a reproach in the mouth of Barack Obama: “I would have liked to see him in a stronger attitude.”
Jordan reaffirmed his “probably selfish” reluctance to take political positions during his NBA career, saying he never saw himself “as an activist.”
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And in the fifth episode of the blockbuster documentary, he referred to his often-quoted joke that he had strayed from politics because “Republicans also buy sneakers.” Jordan said the comment, which he said was made in jest, came in 1990 when he refused to support the black Democratic candidate. Harvey Gantt in his campaign for a North Carolina Senate seat against the Republican Jesse Helms.
The latter was a controversial figure, who had been accused of racism throughout his career, and a staunch opponent of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 who also opposed the establishment of the day of Martin Luther King as a national holiday in the United States.
Michael Jordan recalled his “apolitical” position and understands that he is considered “selfish.”
Photo: AFP
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“I don’t think it is necessary to correct that statement, because I jokingly said it on a bus with Horace Grant and Scottie Pippen, “Jordan said.” It was taken out of context. My mother asked me to make a public statement in support of Gantt and I said: ‘Look, mom, I’m not speaking on behalf of anyone I don’t know. But I will send a contribution to support it. ‘ And that’s what I did, “explained the former player.
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Jordan added that he never saw himself as an activist athlete, in line with former world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. “I commend Ali for standing up for what he believed,” Jordan recalled, “but I never considered myself an activist. I considered myself a basketball player.”
The former athlete admitted that his apolitical stance could be seen as selfish in some sectors. “I wasn’t a politician when I was playing. I was focused on my trade. Was that selfish? Probably. But that was my energy. There was my energy,” he said.
In the same documentary, former US President Obama said he believed Jordan could have talked more. “I’ll be honest. When it was reported that Michael said: ‘Republicans also buy sneakers’, for someone who at the time was preparing for a civil rights career and knowing what Jesse Helms stood for, I would have liked to see Michael in a stronger attitude“
Jordan, 57, insisted he has no regrets and said he had tried to set an example with his achievements as an athlete. “It will never be enough for everyone and I know, because everyone has a preconceived idea of what I should do and what I should not do,” he argued. “The way I follow my life is that I set examples. If it inspires you, great; I will continue doing it. If not, then maybe I’m not the person you should follow. “
