The Miniscule Man

I spent the pre-dawn hours of my day today, catching up on events from this weekend and after I had finished, I regretted that I didn't start my day a little differently. Now that I have had a few hours to think about it, however, I'm thinking that there is a lesson in the depressing events I had witnessed.

I had finished watching the NBA Hall of Fame induction ceremony when I realized that I had just seen one of the saddest things I had ever watched in sports. To be sure, I was not a big fan of David Robinson or John Stockton when they played in the NBA, but after this morning, I have a new found respect for both men. Conversely, I enjoyed watching Michael Jordan play basketball even when he was a shadow of himself with the Washington Wizards. I learned this morning that I had gotten it all wrong.

I watched with great admiration as David Robinson spoke humbly about his past, glowingly about his present, and excitedly about his future. He thanked everyone from his first coach to his last one, his teammates and all those who had helped him get to where he was. He spoke to each of his children separately and hoped that they would be proud of their name because of this accomplishment, but urged and encouraged them to forge their own path. He spoke lovingly about his wife who he called his rock and someone who made him feel like he wanted to be a better man each day. He spoke of how great the Spurs had been to him and acknowledged all those who came before him in San Antonio. Lastly, he spoke about walking with G-d and how He had overseen all the events of his life and now he, in essence, bowed humbly before Him, thanking Him for everything in his life.

Following that, I watched John Stockton talk of his humble beginnings and of how he was never the best player on any of the teams that he had played on. He felt lucky just to be where he was standing. He thanked all of the people who helped him get to where he was, spoke about each of his six children individually and how his wife was there for him and allowed him to do what he did each day. He spoke of the Jazz organization with appreciation for taking a chance on him and how well he had been treated through the years. Mostly, he seemed like he was a guy who felt out of place at the Hall of Fame and was just happy to be there.

Evidently, the HOF felt that they were saving the best for last. In what was quite assuredly the most arrogant, selfish, conniving, vengeful and self centered speech I had ever witnessed, Michael Jordan took the podium for close to 15 minutes and proceeded to do to his reputation, what defenders and opponents could never do to his game-destroy it.

In his immature and at times incoherent mumble fest, Jordan left no former enemy unscathed. Of Jerry Karuse, the old Bulls GM he said "He's not here tonight-I don't know who invited him, I didn't". He said Buzz Peterson could not have been player of the year in high school because he had never played against him. He used the pronouns I, me or my over 230 times and gave everyone a slight window into the head of what most in the ESPN cult like to call the greatest athlete who ever lived.

How sad.

Jordan used the platform to proclaim only his greatness in a way that you would expect a nine year old to do. When talking about Scottie Pipen he mused "...every Championship I won, Scottie was there." And here I thought basketball was a team sport. In a room full of high achievers, Jordan acted as if he was the only one in the building who was competitive-as he kept reminding us-or that he was the only one in sports who ever worked hard. He called Jeff Van Gundy Pat Riley's "little guy" I suppose forgetting that Van Gundy had himself worked extremely hard to get where he was and you can be sure that while Mike Jordan was gambling away millions of dollars in Atlantic city, Jeff Van Gundy was up at night trying to find a way to guard him.

But this poor excuse for a man left the best of his self-centeredness for his children. "You guys have a heavy burden-I wouldn't want to be you if I had to".

What a loser.

After I listened to him say other gems like "Someone like me who accomplished a lot" or "I hope it's given the millions of people that I've touched...." I thought for a few moments about what some of his apologists are saying. For instance, "this was why we loved him so much because he was so competitive" or "Jordan knows of no other way because he is just so great and competitive" as if Bill Russell, whose championships rings dwarf Jordan's, or Yogi Berra, who has four more rings than "his airness", were any less competitive. We didn't have to make excuses for those athletes because at their inductions, they weren't the kind of small man Jordan was. Jordan showed that he is in fact exactly what his detractors always said he was-a packaged, fake, fifth avenue marketing machine in a suit. The truth is Jordan is a petty, arrogant, immature, conceited and childish man who was incredibly gifted at what he did. Nothing else.

In the end, he showed us all that he's just a basketball player. That is all.

I thought about the two players, Robinson and Stockton, who spoke before him. They weren't from big market Chicago. They didn't play for Dean Smith. They didn't have anyone packaging them to make them something they were not. The Networks didn't love them. They were just two competitive men who loved playing basketball and were very good at it. They didn't promote themselves nor, does it seem, did they keep score by cashing checks. They were just two under appreciated athletes who had their priorities in order. There were no Carla Knafle's in their closets, no paternity suits and left no gambling debts in their wake. They were just two men, I wish now, I would have gotten a chance to appreciate more often.

As for Jordan, I think his work on Friday night speaks for itself. He let the world know that his grudges last forever and his pettiness could not be stifled on what should have been the pinnacle personal moment of his career. He is a shallow, empty man who the world perceives as having everything, but at his very essence, he has nothing. No character, no integrity, no humility and most assuredly, no class.

For years I had heard how awful it was that a Jewish basketball player had to be burdened with the moniker "the Jewish Jordan". It was a mistake to do that to Tamir, but the public ran with it no matter how much he and everyone around him tried to stop it. They said he could never be Michael Jordan--lucky for Tamir. Tamir Goodman is far too much of a man to ever be mentioned in the same breath as Michael Jordan. The world thinks calling him the Jewish Jordan was an insult to Michael Jordan. In all honesty, it's was an insult to Tamir Goodman.

I hope all my children and my friends children, get a chance to see this particular Jordan performance above all his others, so they know he is nothing to aspire to. As for me, I would not trade one moment on the clock of my life, for any second of his if it meant that I had to be Michael Jordan for any length of my short time on this earth. How sad his life has turned out to be. He is an immature child, who I dare say, is trapped in the body of a miniscule man.