Republicans buy sneakers, too

In 1990, Charlotte mayor Harvey Gantt, an African American politician often hailed as a symbol of “The New South,” unsuccessfully challenged conservative Jesse Helm, a three-term white incumbent with a dubious history regarding racial segregation, for a seat in the United States Senate. Though this contest was obviously inherently encumbered with social symbolism and historical weight, perhaps the most memorable and momentous contribution from this election was in fact provided a third party: Michael Jordan. When Mayor Gannt’s campaign staff asked Jordan, a North Carolina native and fellow African American, to endorse the Gannt campaign, Jordan not only declined, but did so for the reason that "Republicans buy sneakers too."

Jordan was properly criticized for allegedly choosing his own net-worth over his self-worth, for protecting his bottom line expenses at the expenses of his social duty, and for safeguarding a black expense sheet rather than championing Black America. Jordan’s devotion to a profit motive was made clearer when Jordan would later endorse a democrat for president, fellow hoops alum Bill Bradley; destroying any doubt that Jordan’s aversion to Gantt’s campaign was simply Gannt’s leanings to the left. And despite the fact that history may fail to appreciate how ugly the Gannt/Helm campaign truly was and that perhaps Jordan was actual somewhat wise to avoid getting involved in such a sharply divisive contest, Jordan’s non-stance is continually cited as an abhorrent epitome of excessive selfishness of public figures. However, though choosing to be politically and socially apathetic in a democracy is arguably less admirable than being politically and socially engaged in one, perhaps reevaluating Jordan’s alleged selfishness reveals it to be more a result of Jordan’s own commitment to greatness.

It seems, then, the ethos of Jordan’s excuse is twofold. Firstly, Michael Jordan’s social worth is clearly defined by his status as an athlete. Everyone and his or her mother have debated whether or not entertainers like Jordan should be responsible for both cultivating and expressing socially relevant opinions. In regards to the latter, everyone and his or her mother usually reach the conclusion that no, entertainers should not share these opinions. And by definition alone, no, entertainers by trade are not required to be politically or socially informed and in fact doing so might actually take entertainers efforts away from where their talents lie (everyone and his or her mother’s economist define this as opportunity cost). Yet, everyone and his or her mother eventually offers the qualification that entertainers are also citizens of the democratic state, and thus, it is not their duty as entertainers to have political opinions, but rather their duty as democratic citizens ([Plato’s] Republic[ans] buy sneakers, too). Of course, this civic-duty-caveat (You down with CDC? Yeah, you know me!) only applies if the specific everyone and his or her mother likes the entertainment provided by the entertainer in question, in which case the entertainer is not allowed encouraged to hold political opinions, but to share them at will at everyone via his or her mother’s favorite talk shows. Thus, in another major booyah for democratic socialization, the first fold of the ethos of Jordan’s excuse is exhausted in the name of the CDC.

Yet the second half of Jordan’s excuse is more interesting as it essentially betrays Jordan’s arrogant, self-absorbed borderline-obsessive mission for greatness. Refusing to endorse Mayor Gannt would have been a choice that would have had its consequences, some of which potentially negative; but declining to make such an endorsement and offering the blatant capitalistic driven reason “Republicans buy sneakers, too” is an entirely separate choice that obviously engenders significantly more negative attention. Jordan did not simply stand to be uninvolved, but refrained from a political endorsement to protect his own commercial endorsement. If you think someone might disapprove of your choice, you can likely wager they will disapprove of your choice even more completely when they find out your decision is ultimately motivated by money. Whether Jordan realized his excuse was essentially making the least-popular move possible for the ends of selling more sneakers, Jordan was clearly either distracted or driven by a desire to be great. Granted, the desire to be a great sneakers salesman may or may not be all that noble an aim, but Jordan’s excuse was fundamentally a reveal of his overwhelming competitive desire to be the best which distracted him or shielded him from the negative consequences of his excuse. Fundamentally, “Republicans buy sneakers, too” is simply another insight into Jordan’s unabashed desire to be great. Jordan was so willing to apply himself, so willing to fail and to stay faithful to his own goals (and yes, selling sneakers has questionable worth as far as goals go) that he was effectively unconcerned with the consequences of doing so.

Over the years, Jordan’s weaknesses have been flouted – he is a gambler, an adulterer, a questionable teammate, and ultimately competitive to a fault. Yet most of those who make this last point cite his poor basketball decisions (Kwame Brown), when in fact “Republican’s buy sneakers, too” is an even more obvious outcome of his will to win. The legend of Jordan is this commitment to excellence. It is the legend of being cut from the freshman basketball team only to become the best basketball player of all time. We praise him for his stubborn, uncompromising desire to be great in the face of the chance of failure, yet “Republicans buy sneakers, too” represents the dual side of that which we praise him for: the loss of perspective that results from being consumed with winning. Those who have criticized “Republicans buy sneakers, too” as the beginnings of a selfish generation of athletes neglect that self-interest existed long before Jordan (Holler, Adam Smith!) and fail to appreciate Jordan’s most important trait – his competitiveness. Jordan’s excuse cannot simply be dismissed as selfishness when we simultaneously laud him for his competitiveness to the extent that we have in our culture. Jordan’s excuse cannot be simply criticized nor praised: it is a perfect microcosm of Jordan’s dual side in our social folklore. Jordan is often quoted as saying, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Maybe we haven’t taken a shot at appreciating “Republicans buy sneakers, too” as the most consummate, self-illuminating, quote from the most important athlete of our time.

· http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/motorsports/nascar_plus/news/2001/02/20/nascar_politics/

· http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Helms

· http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=granderson/070702

· http://www.nytimes.com/1990/09/23/us/in-north-carolina-s-senate-race-a-divisive-tv-fight-over-values.html

· http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_12_97/ai_60041430/