Times Journalist Once Wrongly Predicted Lewis Hamilton to Follow Michael Jordan’s $2.6 Billion Route: “He Will Become a ‘Yes-Man’”

Lewis Hamilton is one of the most vocal athletes around the world when it comes to raising awareness of inclusivity and representation. However, when the F1 sensation was breaking onto the scene, Times journalist Matthew Syed predicted him to follow Michael Jordan‘s path of becoming a “yes man“. The path that Syed believed was that of turning his back on such issues for a flourishing empire.

The Mercedes driver’s biography, Lewis Hamilton: Triple World Champion, quoted Syed as saying in 2008, “Lewis Hamilton will soon become familiar with the rules of this depressing game. Even now the 22-year-old is being schooled in the art of saying nothing. His handlers recognize that by presenting their client as a blank canvas it will be easier to persuade multinationals to emblazon him with their logos. Like Jordan, he will soon become a walking billboard.”

Syed revealed how Jordan had the opportunity to dethrone Republican Senator, Jesse Helms, from North Carolina in 1990. Jordan back then quoted Helms as using racial slurs in his campaigns.

However, when it came to fighting against him, Jordan dismissed the idea, saying, “Republicans buy sneakers, too.” Given the context, it is pertinent to note that Jordan has amassed $2.6 billion through endorsements in the last 40 years.

Syed couldn’t have been more wrong in his assessment of Hamilton, though. He hasn’t just let his thoughts known on every occasion that called for it but has also taken corrective steps in the organizations he is associated with.

While the seven-time champion has always been vocal, the Black Lives Matter movement was a watershed moment in his life as an activist. Hamilton stepped up his efforts for change quite a lot in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

Lewis Hamilton and the fight for inclusivity and equality

F1 returned to action during the 2020 season in the wake of the ongoing BLM movement. The sporting body lent its support to the movement with its ‘We Race As One‘ initiative.

All the drivers sported T-shirts with the slogan imprinted on them. Hamilton, however, defied the direction to wear a ‘Black Lives Matter’ imprinted T-shirt underneath his racing suit. He revealed it while taking the knee during the one-minute silence observed by F1 in solidarity with Floyd’s death.

In an interview with Jay Shetty earlier this year, Hamilton revealed, “There’s a right way to do it but the first day I was going to take the knee, I didn’t feel like I could tell my team. Because I felt that they wouldn’t understand how important it is for me to do this on this day.” He added, “Afterwards my team are like ‘Well if you just told us we could have prepared better’ but I had this fear that they would try and stop me.”

The fight for the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community is another initiative close to his heart. He has, time and again, defied F1 and FIA’s directives to express solidarity with the community through the ‘rainbow’ imprinted helmets he sports in the countries that are against the initiative.

Hamilton also expressed his anguish on continuing to race amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Although, he admitted that it was difficult for him to follow and understand the issues of the war as F1 functioned in a “bubble”.