Michael Jordan

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Michael Jordan once said, “There are plenty of teams in every sport that have great players and never win titles. Most of the time, those players aren’t even willing to sacrifice for the greater good of the team. The funny thing is, in the end, their unwillingness to sacrifice only makes individual goals more difficult to achieve as a team, the individual accolades will take care of themselves. Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” Michael Jordan is a famous NBA player and quite possibly the best known athlete in the world. (“Michael Jordan”). Jordan was born on February 17, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York. He was one of five children and moved to Wilmington, North Carolina at a very young age. “His father taught him to work hard and not be tempted by street life” (Michael Jordan Biography). His mother taught him how to do—what is now considered- “women’s work” (i.e.: sewing, cleaning, laundry, etc.). And throughout his years of playing basketball from high school to going pro as a NBA player to being in the Olympics, he always worked hard and made sure to never make the same mistake twice. In the first year of retirement, Jordan “celebrated” his $1 million grant program to help teachers make a difference in their schools. Because the way he led his life, Michael Jordan exhibits courage and a mind laced with strong morals, which makes Michael Jordan a hero.

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Michael Jordan is built on his morals, which makes him a hero. Early on in Jordan’s high school life, he did not make the basketball team as a sophomore; but “instead of pouting or making excuses over failure, Jordan [used] it to spur him to greater achievement” (Schwartz). Jordan had sculpted himself into one of a kind by combining his drive to win, refusal to quit, and desire to bring any team he was on all the way (Schwartz). Whenever he worked out, he would keep note of every mistake he made, accepting it and fixing it. What makes him so great is he always made sure to learn from his mistakes, but to never repeat them. In 1998 the Chicago Bulls won another important game; “Five years later, after beating the Sonics on Father's Day for the title, he again sobbed openly while laying face down on the locker room carpet. The previous time the Bulls had a won a title, in 1993, it also was on Father's Day, which was the last for James Jordan. The son had shown the country his pain when his father was murdered that summer.” (Schwartz). After showing the world the athlete in you, people begin to think you happen to be a sport-God with no emotion. But Jordan showed the world he still had human qualities. He cried in front of the whole world for his father, which was quite sullen and grave. His father’s murder is something that has been close to him and ultimately led to him retiring for the first time. This showed the world for the first time that he had the conceptual understanding of his father’s death, ultimately leading to him understanding and releasing his emotions and morals on national television.

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Michael Jordan exhibits a high sense of demeanor on the court, which coincidentally makes him courageous. Many athletes play with anger and ego (i.e.: taunting and bragging), but Michael stood up against it; “Michael's model for on-court decorum was Julius Erving. The only time I've ever seen Michael go jaw-to-jaw with another player was in a 1992 playoff game against the Knicks. Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley and Xavier McDaniel were trying to knock the stuffing out of Scottie Pippen, and Michael got into Ewing's face about it. Michael wasn't crowing about a spectacular play or trying to build himself up by tearing someone else down. He was just standing up for a teammate. It was a courageous act of leadership.” (Phil Jackson). There were people on his team that were acting young, egotistical, and were acting without thinking of being humble. Standing up to these people took courage; he could have just stood off to the side and ignored it completely. But no, Jordan confronted them and told them to play with sportsmanship. Jordan once said, “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I’ve been trusted with the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” (Debra Oakland). He says he has failed time and time again. If you have not done so, you are not risking anything, therefore, having no courage to keep evolving and moving forward through every obstacle life throws at people. This man had plenty of courage.

All things considered above, Michael Jordan is a hero. He took risks multiple times in his life, which displayed courage. By showing the world that he actually is human by expressing and applying his work ethic and morals, he is truly a hero. Michael Jordan came from the streets of Brooklyn and his father taught him to stay away from that lifestyle, to reach above and beyond that. Michael Jordan did exactly what his father asked of him, which makes him a hero.

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