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Michael Jordan Finally Speaks on Race and Makes Two $1 Million Donations

michael jordan race police

The Undefeated, an ESPN website that discusses race and sports, published a statement from Michael Jordan yesterday.

In the statement, Jordan cautiously addresses the issues of race and policing in the United States and announced two $1 million dollar donations to two charitable organizations: the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the Institute for Community-Police Relations. (According to Forbes, MJ’s net worth is estimated to be $1.14 billion).

Below is Michael Jordan’s statement in its entirety. Share your thoughts in the comments below.


“As a proud American, a father who lost his own dad in a senseless act of violence, and a black man, I have been deeply troubled by the deaths of African-Americans at the hands of law enforcement and angered by the cowardly and hateful targeting and killing of police officers. I grieve with the families who have lost loved ones, as I know their pain all too well.

“I was raised by parents who taught me to love and respect people regardless of their race or background, so I am saddened and frustrated by the divisive rhetoric and racial tensions that seem to be getting worse as of late. I know this country is better than that, and I can no longer stay silent. We need to find solutions that ensure people of color receive fair and equal treatment AND that police officers – who put their lives on the line every day to protect us all – are respected and supported.

“Over the past three decades I have seen up close the dedication of the law enforcement officers who protect me and my family. I have the greatest respect for their sacrifice and service. I also recognize that for many people of color their experiences with law enforcement have been different than mine. I have decided to speak out in the hope that we can come together as Americans, and through peaceful dialogue and education, achieve constructive change.

“To support that effort, I am making contributions of $1 million each to two organizations, the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s newly established Institute for Community-Police Relations and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. The Institute for Community-Police Relations’ policy and oversight work is focused on building trust and promoting best practices in community policing. My donation to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the nation’s oldest civil rights law organization, will support its ongoing work in support of reforms that will build trust and respect between communities and law enforcement. Although I know these contributions alone are not enough to solve the problem, I hope the resources will help both organizations make a positive difference.

“We are privileged to live in the world’s greatest country – a country that has provided my family and me the greatest of opportunities. The problems we face didn’t happen overnight and they won’t be solved tomorrow, but if we all work together, we can foster greater understanding, positive change and create a more peaceful world for ourselves, our children, our families and our communities.”

michael jordan race police
Chuck Burton/AP

Source: The Undefeated / NYTimes

10 comments
  1. Leading up to this, I wasn’t a fan of the whole “MJ is a greedy jerk who doesn’t care about his community” narrative.

    He has kept his mouth shut while other high profile figures didn’t, but I personally think he was being careful about how/when to speak up. He’s no longer on court to protest games and whatnot. Season’s not even going on to have the Hornets do something right now. He’s sitting at other side of a desk and on the sidelines now. I’m sure he does care (he’s not Uncle Ruckus or some s***), but with that much power, yet less exposed position, he has to be carefully decisive in order to be most effective. That being said, he spoke out because of pressure He’ll probably get dissected for not doing enough or something now. Who knows if he had a more elaborate plan to get a point across vs. simply move money.

    1. I may agree with you to a point but he did NOT speak out when Rodney King happened — and that was when many more people realized how bad police were treating non-white people in the States.

  2. Okay, first let me commend this site for posting this article. I didn’t think that you guys would post it. I am happy to have been wrong.

    If any of you have not, check out ESPN’s Kevin Blackistone’s comments on this issue, which is probably as good as it gets.

    The current political climate has forced Jordan to issue this statement. and he does not want to be on the wrong side of history by simply standing by then saying, and doing nothing. Nike charges two bills for his shoes, young people of color have been getting robbed, and some killed for those shoes. People on the sidelines begin to victim blame, “look at those people acting like animals, ” sounding like Donald Trump and his supporters. If Jordan says nothing, he will get lumped right in with Trump’s crew. So now the police brutality position comes along at the right time for his “Airness”. This cat has shoes to sell, and his job is to remain relevant in popular culture. So I see this as nothing but a shrewd business move, not something coming from the heart. Privately, yeah, I am sure that Jordan talks cash shit, probably is pretty charitable as well, but why let the “republicans buy shoes too, ” narrative live if you didn’t really feel that way?

    Did “The Donald” change your mind about that?

    1. Why would we post it? It’s news, and it’s important.
      I did see Blackistone on Around the Horn, and I agree with some of what he said. In 1991, MJ didn’t comment on the Rodney King incident — yet that moment showed many Americans how bad it was for non-whites at the hands of police.

      I don’t think this climate forced MJ to issue a statement, and I don’t think it’s just a business move. MJ could have stayed silent, that would be consistent with his position on this issue over his career. Melo, The Game, and Snoop spoke their minds and the last two actually did some real good a few weeks ago with their march.

      I think what is lacking is, and this word is being used a lot these days, unity. There are so many hundreds of millions of dollars being paid out to Black athletes in the NFL and NBA that it is astonishing that they do not use some of that money to lobby Washington. There is so much wealth, so much power in the form of the dollar, that is not being used to its full potential. And I can’t be sure, but I’d bet the NBA and NFL have worked in some way to limit the possibility of athletes organizing in such a way.

      MJ, according to Forbes, is worth over a little over a billion dollars. His recent donations are less than 2% of his estimated wealth. OF COURSE, Jordan could do more, but no one can force him to do so — and many others with more money have done nothing. Award ceremony speeches are good, but ultimately there is little real-world consequence (I am not saying drawing attention to an issue is doing nothing, it most certainly is doing something). Nike CEOs saying there is an issue is great, but the company is an ENORMOUS force in a state that is quite conservative, albeit its “blue-ness.” Nike has a HUGE presence in Tennessee, an overwhelmingly red state — the Swoosh could do more, but chooses not to. It’s a business that only sees dollars and cents, much like the rest of this country.

      Many of the Black people in my community have one thing to say: that they are tired of white liberals that holler and cry about the way police treat Blacks but do nothing to actually fix the issue. I think we have to be careful. If we’re honestly upset, we have to do more than we have been.

      1. On sites like Niketalk and Sole Collector, topics such as this get swept under the rug, because they only want to talk about “the shoes”. There is an agenda there, no doubt. With Phil Knight recently stepping down from jis perch at Nike, I find it interesting that all of a sudden, Nike is releasing statements on racial injustice in America. It wasn’t too long ago that Nike was forced to release a statement regarding their Law Enforcement Appreciation Day deals, right on the heels of the Eric Garner murder. So with Jordan doing this, releasing this statement at this time, I’d be remiss if I did not pay attention to the timing of this release. I do not trust it, because I do not trust Nike. Business first for them, and if they felt that Jordan’s statement were a risk, especially under Knight, it would have never been released. Nike as a whole is famous for not taking any stance that they would not benefit from. Jordan, works for Nike, and it is going to take a little more action for me to think otherwise.

  3. Can’t believe that any black man isn’t deeply troubled by the police brutally murdering young black men in front of their families without them even committing a crime. I’m white, and I know that is beyond fucked up. The police force as a whole can’t be blamed and innocent officers that had nothing to do with these murders should not have to pay with their own lives. I choose to believe that Jordan is just pissed about the state of affairs in america and wants to promote improvement.

    1. I agree, death on both sides does not remedy the issue. But look at what just happened: all charges have been dropped in the Freddie Gray case against the last three Baltimore officers. That means that, in the eyes of the law, no one killed Freddie Gray. Not only that, but apparently not one of those six is responsible for the death of a human being in their custody. Our policing system is broken; cops today are unlike the cops I knew growing up. Today, many cops are LOOKING to arrest people and find any excuse to lock somebody up. I see it every day in my community. That is not policing, and it is not “protect and serve.” It is called being an agent of the prison industrial complex — over two million people in prison keep the government paid.

      When I was a kid some of the officers in my community knew people. They knew whose kids played with who else’s kids, whose mom or grandma was watching us from her apartment window play in the street — community policing as being a part of the community. How can cops protect and serve communities when many insult the people in those communities, antagonize them, and do everything in their power to jam them up?

      Many of the Black people in my community have one thing to say: that they are tired of white liberals that holler and cry about the way police treat Blacks but do nothing to actually fix the issue. I think we have to be careful. If we’re honestly upset, we have to do more than we have been.

    1. Bro, I appreciate you posting about this as well and have read your responses to other posters. Those statements by you are clearly well thought out and come from an honest place. I don’t think that I have anything else to add really because after reading all that has been posted, my sentiments have already been expressed. I just wanted to positively acknowledge this article and everyone’s input. Respect.

      1. We appreciate you man! Long-time commenter and supporter. Thank you.
        I’m happy that on WearTesters.com we can have respectful discussions and that’s because we have great fans.

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