Thursday, April 11, 2013

Madelyn Webster 6


Based on the movie we watched today, it is wrong that Michael Jordan refused to stand behind a Democrat because he did not want to offend Republicans who buy his line of shoes. It is also noble that Muhammad Ali evaded the draft. To me this is complete absurdity.  

First of all, Michael Jordan was an incredible athlete and regardless of his ties to corporations, that should not be forgotten. He is still the greatest basketball player of all time. The fact that he was sponsored by Nike and was in Nike commercials and had a line of shoes through Nike etc. means that he is not just an individual anymore. What he did affected an entire multi-billion dollar company. Being in that role means he SHOULD watch what he says and not side with any particular side on political issues because it jeopardizes not only people being his fans but also effects the business of Nike. It is my opinion that when you sign on to do what Jordan was doing for Nike, you are obligated to not piss off potentially half of their customers.

Second of all, evading a draft was illegal. It was a crime. I personally do not condone professional athletes who are the role models for many young children breaking federal laws. Muhammad Ali broke the law and was praised for it. This teaches all the children who watch that it is okay to break the law if you do not believe it. “The law says I can’t steal but I think this person deserves it so I’m going to just do it” I understand that this may be a slightly extreme example, but the principle is the same.

It is not that I disagreed with the whole video, I just think that so much of what we see in the video and more and more in the media these days is creating a warped perspective of reality and this needs to be stopped. 

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