Michael Jordan has spent his time on the golf course and largely out of the public eye these days. So, when his son, Marcus Jordan, got into a car accident earlier this year, that became the headline. But the news, rather than focus on the incident at hand, extensively covered MJ’s alleged ‘failure as a parent.’ The way the media spoke about it, you would’ve thought that MJ himself was the one driving intoxicated.
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These coverage choices are wide-spread. Players, especially great ones, are blamed for every terrible decision made not just by themselves, but by anyone near them. We’ve seen this across sports, from Jordan being slandered for his son’s actions to all-time greats like the soccer player Paul Gascoigne, who was chased across the country by reporters who didn’t care about the human behind the athleticism.
And yet, when the tables turned as Jordan opened a new health clinic in his hometown of Charlotte, the fourth of its kind, there was hardly anything said. There were barely any articles written, no thoughts shared, and no cheers in the same way there were jeers about his son.
Not even the fact that Jordan donated $10 million to Novant Health to construct the premises last year. In 2017, he had donated $7 million for the construction of his first two free clinics in Charlotte as well.
As the Department of Health strips options for lower-income and uninsured people, there should have been an outpouring of thanks that the clinic had been opened. Unfortunately for everyone involved, that was not the case.
In the words of former Wizards center Etan Thomas, he said the following on BasketballNews.com –
“The media made sure everybody knew and saw the footage of when Michael Jordan’s son got arrested, but barely covered when he opened his fourth free health clinic for uninsured and underinsured people.”
In his article, Thomas focused on the recent string of cuts to healthcare coverage availability for Americans all across the country and the shift Jordan has made from his once famous quote “Republicans buy shoes too!” He included an anecdote about Jordan’s injury-filled time with the Wizards leading to his commitment to making opportunities for care and treatment public.
Despite Thomas’ plea though, it seems many fans do not care about Jordan’s clinics, and have decided that their focus should be on GOAT debates or parody posts. NBA Central, an aggregator account on Twitter/X, made a post about this situation, and the replies were filled with ad hominem, personal attacks against Jordan, and unnecessary mentions of LeBron James and his “I Promise” school in his hometown of Akron.
In focusing on these completely unnecessary details, the commenters have proved Thomas’ point: good deeds are not given nearly as much attention as bad ones.
