Jordan/Nike Nexus

Michael Jordan is a sports icon known all over the world. I'm from Venezuela, and everyone there knew about Michael Jordan, the best basketball player. We always heard and read about the "good things" Michael Jordan had accomplished; he always seemed to get really positive publicity. Jordan became very wealthy with million-dollar contracts with the Chicago bulls, and advertisement contracts with sports manufactures such as Nike.

In the article, The Sports Spectacle, Michael Jordan, and Nike: Unholy Alliance?* By Douglas Kellner, I learned how " Jordan brushed off questions about whether Nike, which pays him $20 million a year in endorsement fees, was violating standards of decency by paying Indonesian workers only 30 cents per day". His attitude towards Nike practices just tainted his "good image" for me. He did represent a good role model for many young people who wanted to pursue sports. On the other hand, he never took interest to see if Nike was doing the right thing in those Asian countries. Nike supposedly pay less than $2.00 a day to workers to produce the Nike's Air Jordan Shoes. Michael Jordan said he was just endorsing the product, but that product was made by people who worked under bad conditions and were paid less than the minimal wage, which in some case was just $30 per month.

As the article says: " While Michael Jordan tries to present himself as the embodiment of all good and wholesome values, he is clearly tainted by his corporate involvements with Nike in the unholy alliance of commerce, sports spectacle, and celebrity. His symbiosis with Nike is so tight, they are so intertwined with each other, that if Nike is tarnished so too is Jordan". I agree with the author, and Michael Jordon is a great athlete and serves as inspiration for others, but he also signifies wealth, greed, and competitiveness.



I like how this cartoon portrays the Jordan/Nike nexus and links it to Nike's inhumane practices in the Asian factories.

nicholsoncartoons.com.au