Michael Jordan is the only Black majority owner in the NBA. He owns the Charlotte Bobcats. As entertaining as I found him as a player, however, I held nothing but contempt for Michael as a person. Not least because his refusal to speak out on racial issues of the day suggested a craven willingness to associate even with the grand wizard of the KKK if that would promote his brand or line his pockets.
I remember well back in 1990 when Black Harvey Gantt tried to unseat White Jesse Helms, the notoriously Dixie-whistling, overtly racist Republican senator from North Carolina. Naturally, Gantt sought Michael’s endorsement. Michael refused, insisting rather infamously, “Republicans buy sneakers too.” Gantt lost. Now, can you imagine Barack Obama asking Oprah to endorse him in 2008 and having Oprah refuse, insisting that Republicans watch her show too?
This is why, despite everyone from Shaq to President Obama speaking out against Sterling’s racist comments (and Kobe saying he would strike if he were a Clipper), I did not expect Michael to utter a single word. I felt certain he would want to avoid alienating fellow NBA owners and White fans who hold similar views.
This, after all, would’ve been entirely consistent with the contempt he showed as a player for matters of race. But it would also have been consistent with the contempt he has shown since then as a peddler of his retro Air Jordans – even refusing to speak out when poor Black kids actually died trying to get their hands on one of his obscenely priced sneakers.
Imagine how heartened and encouraged I was, therefore, when I read the following statement Michael issued this afternoon damning Sterling in no uncertain terms:
There is no room in the NBA — or anywhere else — for the kind of racism and hatred that Mr. Sterling allegedly expressed. I am appalled that this type of ignorance still exists within our country and at the highest levels of our sport. In a league where the majority of players are African-American, we cannot and must not tolerate discrimination at any level.
(The Associated Press, April 27, 2014)
Of course, this change might only reflect his perverse regard for the mercenary prerogatives that exist between NBA owner and NBA player. Or is that between master and servant?
Whatever the case, with Michael joining the ranks of those of us calling for Sterling’s ouster, I am now convinced, more than ever, that it’s not a matter of if the NBA will force him out, but when.
In the meantime, I would be even more heartened and encouraged if prominent White folks, especially professional athletes, joined the chorus of Blacks condemning Sterling. It clearly speaks volumes that none of the NBA’s White owners seem outraged enough to do so….
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* This commentary was originally published on Sunday at 4:39 pm