[Yahoo! Sports] "Jordan’s night to remember turns petty"

Because he was Michael Jordan and he was a human publicity stunt - he was a terrible triple A player who would have been demoted/cut otherwise.

 

Addendum to my previous post:

It is absolutely evident to me why Jordan has been a collossal failure in management. He ruled his teammates with an iron fist throughout his career, going as far as to beat up the diminutive (although annoying) Steve Kerr. As a player, though, he was able to physically impose his will on more than his teammates, utilizing what was an undeniably superior game on hapless defenders. That, however, doesn't mean a thing in management.

The great players, historically, have difficulty in management, coaching, etc., because they simply cannot fathom lesser talents not being able to anticipate, see, and do the things which for them were second nature. Simply, they see the game differently and it's a vision which cannot be taught in any school or on any court. For Jordan, this problem is magnified exponentially.

With Kwame Brown (2nd alltime on the #1 bust list only because Olowokandi should've never even been drafted), he likely saw Brown's size and remarkable first step and figured it would translate to the nba. It's likely he never understood Kwame's immaturity or horrid work ethic. That's the kind of research even average GMs perform by dedicating the time to do so. That's the kind of research that, by not doing so, gets people fired and forever in the nba unemployment line. Jordan? MJ? The day he's forever in the nba unemployment line is the day when HE decides he'd rather do something else. He has a lietime pass...an entitled job in some team's front office eternally...and as such has very little incentive to actually buckle down, put his ego aside, and actually learn from the great GMs of the game, past or present. As is, he won't even learn from Krauss.

Truly, I can't completely blame him for the situation. After all, who's going to say something to him, and even if they did, is he going to listen/comprehend it? He is MJ after all. You think a phone call to the commissioner from his Golden Goose has no weight? Think again. Even if you do think it has no weight, you'd be foolish to not think that there is a perception around nba circles that Jordan at least has a permanent line to Stern's ear and that by itself could be enough to affect his career. He's Godfathered...Golden...and ultimately a prisoner to his own success. Even when he shows a complete disregard for humility and graciousness, he's egged on by the masses, cheered by the fans, even mulliganed by the very people and players he decided to slight in what should have been the penultimate exclamation point to a truly storied, successful and incredible career.

 

My point stands. He still got to a higher level than 99.9 percent of the human race...

 

Jordan is doing a fine job with the Bobcats imo....


DJ Augustin was a FANTASTIC pick.

JRich for Bell and Diaw was a steal.

And I think Chandler is going to make that team run much more smoothly...



And btw, Don't blame Mike too much for Kwame Brown.


He was number 1 on EVERY SINGLE draft board...

 

Although Jordan makes it very clear that Mr. Leroy fueled his fire, Jordan also pointed out that he was ultra competitive even before playing basketball added with Jordan's love for the game, incredible talent, work ethic, etc, it is very likely that Jordan was destined for the NBA no matter who stood in his way.

It is obvious that Jordan has an Tremendous Ego, however he has balanced that by contributing to communities, charities, & their events...

"Michael Jordan is involved with a variety of charities including the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs of America, UNCF/College Fund, Special Olympics and a number of other charitable organizations that support children and families."

http://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/527-michael-jordan

"Jordan kept busy over the next few years by staying in shape, playing golf in celebrity charity tournaments, [94] Jordan and his then-wife Juanita pledged $5 million to Chicago's Hales Franciscan High School in 2006,[97] and the Jordan Brand has made donations to Habitat for Humanity and a Louisiana branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.[98]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jordan

In regards to separating himself from other players in a classless way...That may be one of his reasons, which would only be a rain drop compared to what was More Likely to have been the reason as to what he said, the way he said it, and why he flew Mr. Leroy in...which was to display and point out One of Life's Greatest Lessons, which he made as conspicuous as he could, on the Grandest stage of Hall of Famers, to boys and girls across the world that Even One of the Greatest Players in the world, if not the Greatest Player, was told Sorry but your not good enough right now... the impression left by his very own high school basketball coach irregardless of whether or not that was true.

The Lessons to be learned are "Believe in Yourself & or Your Holiness (that is if you have one), Follow your Dreams Especially when others do not believe in you, when others do not help you, and when others may try to prevent you from achievement. Be persistent, work at it, and don't give up until you accomplish whatever your Dreams may be."

The Media says to be Like Mike
Mike says to be Like Him
which really means... to be Your True Self

 

Eddie Gaedel got to an even higher level than Jordan did.



That doesn't mean either Jordan or Gaedal was very good at baseball.

 

Jordan was not a bad minor league player at all.

Played a pretty solid right field,

Hit .202, 3 home runs, 51 RBI and 30 stolen bases in 127 games.

Not bad at all for a guy that had not picked up a bat since highschool.

If it was not for the strike, word was that he was going to stick with it and try to improve. What were Gaedal's stats again Sam?

 

People are forgetting that he is an athlete. This shouldnt be about him being a role model or something. The people who should keep this in mind are athletes. You see a lot of athletes who lose focus and never reach their potential.

Remember what he said in his speech, "What is it about me that you dont know" There is a million different things he could talk about. He chose to talk about what motivated him to be that great. Who cares if you view this as immature or insecure. Would you be willing to act this way if it helps you become an athlete like Jordan? His personality played a role in his drive for success.

 

good point. maybe thats a way for him to tell everyone that he's only human. he 's not perfect. he's insecure, immature, hold grudges just like everyone else. but through hardwork, dedication and focus, plus using bad experiences or insecurities as a motivation, anyone can be successful.

 

Great post, +Rep...

 

This is one of the most irresponsible things I've heard. I believe it was first started by Charles Barkley years ago in a TV commercial.

You make millions of dollars off of poor kids watching you play, buying your shoes and you are not responsible for how you influence the characters of those very kids?

And for all that motivation stuff, yeah, its fine and dandy if you had Michael Jordan's God given talent. Thousands of above average talent kids in the city THINK they can be like Mike and be whatever they are motivated to be (usually playing basketball and not trying to study for a good education) end up flipping burgers for life.

 

I don't know about you guys, but to not show hardly an ounce of gratitude, humility, or appreciation to the people and management that helped him become as successful as he was, it was just petty and immature to me. Yes, I agree that he went out there and won games for his team and that the Bulls wouldn't have even sniffed the championships without him, but come one MJ just a little bit of gratitude never killed anyone.

Anyways, he was a great player, and it was nice to see him be honest about what fueled him to become so great as a player. I just can't sit here and agree with many of you saying that it was ok and that only he can pull it off just because he is MJ (GOAT).

I think being out of character and having a little class and grace when you're being inducted to the HOF means much more to me than being honest and calling people out just because you can.

 

I think the poster understands that. I think it is OK for Mike to let the guard down a little bit and be himself in his own HOF speech.


I don't understand your last paragraph... MJ has stated that he wants kids to go capture their dreams whatever they are. If these kids are irresponsible about school, it is a parent issue...It is better that they play basketball and not make it, than being swept up in gangs and drugs in their youth imo...


And as for Sir Charles, I worshipped the guy when I was growing up.


And I respect that commercial. As an influential person, Barkley was trying to reach parents and kids. He was trying to show kids growing up that CB34 was not perfect, and that basketball was not life. Choose your role models...
My parents did it right, because I listened and respected what THEY said, not F'ing Charles Barkley or whoever. It IS a PARENT issue...

 

Who cares? Nobody has an obligation to kids other than their family and teachers. Just because a child looks up to you doesn't mean you have to give a crap. You should be able to bleed them and their parents dry for every bit of their expendable income, live your life how you want, and be able to sleep great at night. You bring up Barkley? The same Barkley who Sloan's wife fell in love with when he stayed and signed autographs for hours at an all-star event?

I guess the role model thing is a whole different argument but I know I wouldn't hold it against him. And like I said before, I would for my child to have that kind of grit, determination, and confidence.

 

Wait, what? Did you listen to the same speech?

He called out and thanked a lot of people...Family, players, coaches, baseball players...

 

It's great to know that complete selfishness is alive and well. Nice. Let's see....what would most likely make the world a better place? More self absorbed, egotistical people or those who show humility and place others before themselves? Wow, that's a tough one. I don't care who you are......people watch what you do. Everyone has a responsibility to be a positive example to others.....it's called being a human.

Stockton got it right. David Robinson got it really right. Sadly, MJ blew it. Someone earlier used the word "insecure". I think that said it perfectly. The difference between Stockton and Robinson's speeches and MJ's speech (besides the humility) was that you got the feeling they realized there's so much more to life than basketball. I actually felt sorry for Jordan. It's as if he feels like there's nothing else to live for other than basketball and he's having a hard time coming to grips with it being over.

 

The Pippen shoutout canceled out all of that though. To be fair.

 

Twenty years after the fact and people are still discussing if it's OK for Jordan to be an A Hole? Clearly, most are OK with it, because he's made a fortune off the fact that the public loves a winner, even if that winner is known to be a colossal jerk.

It's not just Jordan, either, it's hundreds of celebrities and athletes, and the list doesn't stop with them, either. It includes business, politics, every profession. It's possibly the worst thing about human nature that we allow successful people to get away with the most horrid behavior simply because they're successful, but we do. I gave up allowing it to bother me, years ago, but I'd love to see the day when the public says enough is enough, and demand more humility instead of less ego and boorish behavior, but I'm not going to hold my breath on that one.

And why are we surprised that so many athletes stink at being good general managers? One profession requires talent and hard work and the other requires brains and hard work. You're simply not going to cut it in the modern NBA front office if your only calling card is that you were an ex player. Within 10-20 years, every GM in pro sports will be a 150+ IQ egghead. Book it.

 

Color me unimpressed, since they have yet to make the playoffs despite having unquestionably one of (if not THE) greatest teaching minds in the coaching world in Larry Brown. Espousing on Brown's accomplishments as a coach and how little he had to work with is easy, so I'll assume you're familiar with his resume (Danny and the Miracles, Clipper playoff team(!), Detroit championship). Brown has an undeniable ability to teach the game...not so coincidentally Jordan's achilles, imo.

DJ Augustin? Great pick? Time will tell. I'm not shaded by his UT roots (not suggesting you are), so I look at his game objectively. He's quick as a hiccup, but still not the floor general I'd like to see. He is young, though and under Brown, so there's hope. JRich for Bell/Diaw was good, but not what I'd call a steal by any means. Bell's heading to the backside of his career and Diaw is incredibly fluctuative. JRich was overrated, so to me, on the court, the deal doesn't mean much. Jordan's going to have to pluck some true franchise players for the Cats to have a bright future and (as long as he's having input), I'm not so sure that's going to happen. What in his past suggests to you that he is anywhere near capable of doing so?

Kwame, I can't give Jordan a pass on as easily as you have. Surprise picks and plummets happen almost annually, so I don't know that Kwame was on everyone's board as #1 anymore than you probably do. Just because the media propped it up that way, doesn't make it factual. The media propped up Jay Williams as the #1 overall and we know how that turned out.