Da Realist:Good advice from MJ
All I know is—for the league and its players—don't try to duplicate something that has been done before. Do it your own way, and see where it goes. It might not hit the way you want it to. You may not make as much money as you want to. But there's value in remaining true to yourself.
G-Nice
I'm finally getting to read this. First of all, I hate ric bucher. I think he is such a jock sniffer. Guy swears he's cool the way he can get an interview with Kobe. He's worse than the dude on the Wire.
Michael sounds a little crotchety. It's one of the few things I dislike about Jordan, but he still isn't saying anything. He's talking about products and images. And as lightly and as unpolitical as possible. There's some opinions there, but it's pretty tame. He sounds like a businessman. Which he is and I guess that's cool. But I really am curious about what he thinks. I don't know what I'm saying. It's cool I guess.
Da Realist:
lol... that's probably why he won't say anything. If he speaks up, he's crotchety. If not, he's bland.
I've always been on the fence about how Jordan should present himself and finally decided to let him do what's comfortable. Joking aside, the man is considered a living legend. He's not even 50 and everyone refers to him as the best that ever touched a basketball. No matter what he says or does (or endorses or stands for), it's a step down.
Look at Magic. In my opinion, one of the 5 best players I've ever seen and I wouldn't argue against someone that would declare him the best ever. But everytime he opens his mouth to say something, he sounds like an uneducated fool. I think it has led people to underrate his legend in a way.
If you're Mike, how do you hold on to that legend and seem human at the same time? I would like to see him just let it go à la Charles Barkley now that he's retired but that's easy for me to say. I'm not protecting anything. No one gives a damn about what I say except for a handful of people.
Gangsta D:
[@ G-Nice] If Bucher was that way with Wade, you wouldn't even think twice about him. Once again, your hatred blinds you.
Did you see the show about Nike on CNBC last week? Brand Jordan is pulling in $800 million a year in sales. You think he's gonna mess that up in any way, by saying something even remotely controversial? Not. Likely.
G-Nice
I know. And at this point, I don't expect him to. I'm just curious.
No, Bucher can interview anyone he wants. It won't change the fact that he sniffs jocks. With his slicked back hair, he's ridiculous. Actually, I have to be fair. Most NBA "journalists" annoy me. Chris Bruchard (I can't remember how to spell it) annoys me too. He only appears with scandal. He never has anything else to add except scandal. He's a jock sniffer too. I like Greg Anthony, though. And that surprises me because I didn't like him as a player.
Da Realist:
And Ric Bucher is undeniably a jock-sniffer. Though, to be fair...so was Ahmad Rashad
G-Nice
Ahmad rashad was at least funny. And self-deprecating. Bucher probably believes he could be a baller.
No, I hear you. I realize Mike has a lot to lose. I have too come to the conclusion that he should be who he wants to be. He doesn't owe anybody anything, it's not his job to stand up and speak on behalf of other. It'd just be nice. It's like that thing with Tiger and that lady announcer. It's not his job to be stand up and holler or read from Jim Brown's script. But it'd be nice if he, especially in the racist environment of golf, could have simply said, "I hope everyone realizes that's not cool. I and the world expect better." That's all. But then that's me wanting him to be something he may or may not be comfortable with. And like you say, that's may not be fair to them. So it is what it is.
And Magic, well, he tries. And I like that about him. I actually think he's plenty smart, I just think it takes him a long, long, long time to finish sentences. People lose interest somewhere in the middle.
Da Realist:
I find myself rooting for Magic. If you listen to the content of what he says you can tell he's very intelligent. But the double negatives...and the run-on sentences...and the dangling participles just make me cringe -- not because i don't understand him (he's like most of our families by the way) but because i don't know if Bob Kraft or Mike Nigro understands him. And I don't want them to think that one of our heroes is stupid.
2 comments:
Da Realist brings up an interesting angle in the discussion of whether these black superstars (Jordan, Tiger Woods) have a "responsibility" to speak up on issues: the "look at how dumb Magic sounds" argument. I'm not sure it's hurt his legacy that much, but I'm open to that possibility.
Modi from Cosellout brought up another good point in this type of discussion: Why does it fall upon black superstars to speak up, anyway? For example, why aren't we looking to white golfer to say "hey, joking around about lynching black people isn't funny"? Why does it always fall upon the black athlete to represent for his people in those situations? I mean, obviously I don't think Steve Nash should speak out about what black people should be doing to improve themselves... that would go over very poorly! But when it comes to these "controversies" that pop up, why does the pressure always fall upon Jordan and his ilk to say something?
That's an interesting point, using the white golfer analogy. It probably doesn't happen because white athletes are afraid of possibly "offending" in some way. If a well-intentioned statement is miscontrued by the public, that person will get villified. Steve Nash has enough trouble with broken noses and knocked out teeth. He doesn't need that added pressure:)
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