Michael Jordan’s son’s arrest coverage points to what is wrong with sports media, says former NBA star

Michael Jordan opened a second clinic in his hometown of Wilmington, North Carolina, in partnership with Novant Health.

Michael Jordan’s son’s arrest coverage points to what is wrong with sports media, says former NBA star

NBA great Michael Jordan

One of the criticisms some current gen players have towards veteran media personnel is how they do not direct criticism towards Michael Jordan in the same manner they do now. Off late, that hypocrisy is what is leading the discourse surrounding the NBA.

LeBron James has spoken up about it and was not apologetical when calling out the harsh criticisms older media heads dole out. This did draw some negative reactions from some of those veteran personnel as they believe when comparing to Michael Jordan, all of those players deserve criticism.

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But at the same time, some pointed out how networks thrive on negativity. They believe back in the day, negativity would not work, which is why Jordan, and the greats of his time were not criticized. Nowadays, a single negative report gets first preference. Former NBA star Etan Thomas cited an example.

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 4th free health clinic for uninsured and underinsured people.

Etan Thomas wrote

The former Washington Wizards star went on to add that Marcus Jordan‘ arrest on the railway tracks in Orlando, Florida received a lot of attention. Reporters flocked Orange County jail to get a sound bite from the former college basketball star.

A couple of weeks later, his father opened another clinic as part of his partnership with Novant Health. But this time, media houses did not even bother covering the event. This goes on to prove that the media focuses on negativity, because that is what sells.

Negativity causing problems between NBA stars and media

The negativity that Etan Thomas is talking about is already affecting current generation NBA stars. Even though LeBron James is the only one to openly talk about, others have indirectly voiced their opinions. For instance, Russell Westbrook took great offense when Skip Bayless insulted his family name.

But the former league MVP did not directly address the then FS1 analyst. Rather used a situation where a fan did the same during a game, to make his point. Even Kevin Durant has called out media members for their overtly critical takes. He too went after Bayless over his ‘washed’ comments.

It seems the primary problem current gen players have is with how veteran media members behave. They believe, the veterans such as Stephen A. Smith, Bayless and Charles Barkley are intentionally avoiding praise in order to stay relevant.

But they do not do it for Jordan, or other NBA greats. For instance, when theories surfaced that Jordan’s stats during his Defensive Player of the Year run were inflated, most of these older media members remained quiet. Only FS1’s Nick Wright talked about it, that too on his podcast.

Michael Jordan opens another clinic in Wilmington as part of $10 million project

Michael Jordan may not be directly facing negative attention from the media. His son, Marcus Jordan is the one networks are following. But the six-time NBA champion is busy doing the good work he started some time back.

The 62-year-old opened a second clinic in his hometown of Wilmington, North Carolina. This means, he has two clinics in conjunction with Novant Health which will provide residents access to cheap health services.

This is in continuation of the $10 million project Jordan started with Novant Health. While opening the first one last year, he had his mother beside him. There are a few times in His Airness’ life where tears have rolled down his eyes. Opening that clinic brought out tears as he shared his happiness from this effort.