Michael Jordan’s acceptance speech for his induction into the hall of fame was humble and honest. He thanked everyone from his family members to his teammates and explained their contribution to his success. After an emotional start, he became comfortable and charmed the audience with his humor and sincerity.
Inarguably the greatest basketball player of all time, Jordan ended his speech on Friday with an open ended conclusion, on whether he’d return to the game. “One day you might look up and see me playing the game at 50, oh don’t laugh…Never say never because limits like fears are often just an illusion.”
His legacy will forever live on and I vote that the NBA should change their logo to his classic Jumpman symbol. Nike might not approve, but I think it is more fitting than the current Jerry West dribbling image.
Comments
Randy G.
September 14th, 2009 - 5:28:23 PM
What an ass Michael Jordan turned out to be. Yosef- if you even have any press credentials, you need to turn them in.
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Yosef Solomon
September 14th, 2009 - 5:32:52 PM
Michael Jordan can say he's the greatest athlete to ever live and that would still be putting it modestly
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Randy G.
September 14th, 2009 - 5:46:55 PM
Yes, he was a great athlete and one of the greatest basketball players who will ever play the game. But, his acceptance speech turned into a bunch of backstabbing comments meant to embarrass. Great men do not have to stomp on those around them in order to make themselves taller. I have always been a Michael Jordan fan, but this self serving tirade was a huge disappointment for me. How you could see it any other way is beyond imagination!
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Yosef Solomon
September 14th, 2009 - 6:07:06 PM
He might've been disappointing to you because you look for him to be a "Great Man" but at the end of the day he was the greatest basketball player of all time. I could care less if he gives a great speech or if he's considered a "great man." He has the right to say whatever he wants because he's the greatest of all time period.
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Randy G.
September 14th, 2009 - 6:44:13 PM
Wow, you have such a narrow perception of greatness. A great player is also a great teammate and civil human being (see John Stockton, greatest point guard of all time). John could have just as easily thrown a lot of his non-believers under the bus in his acceptance speech. But John showed class and also showed what makes him a true legend- humility. Jordan should have followed suit. Instead, he made himself look like an egotistical jack-ass (see Rickey Henderson). The title of greatest basketball player of all time is debatable. He certainly was of his era, but there is no way to conclude who is the greatest of all time. Anyone, such as I and yourself, who makes such a statement is merely stating his opinion. But, anyone who condones boorish behavior and excuses it simply because of a person's skills and greatness needs to learn a little more about the competitive human spirit. Just because someone is great doesn't give them license to sat whatever they want about whatever they want. It doesn't make it right to degrade and embarrass others. For you to make the statement "he can say whatever he wants because he is the greatest of all time" is juvenile and nonsensical. I'm guessing your next article will be in praise of Kanye West and his embarrassment of Taylor Swift because you consider him the greatest singer of all time.
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Yosef
September 15th, 2009 - 12:19:23 AM
"John Stockton, greatest point guard of all time" *Randy G. loses all credibility with the statement above.
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Kevin
September 15th, 2009 - 11:51:06 AM
Truth be told: the great player Michael Jordan (and he is the greatest) would never have been without the attitude and determination permeating through his worldview and seen in the speech above. Sure he took minor offenses personally. But it was that drive to always one up those who said otherwise, again and again, that brought him to win Championship after Championship. You can hate him for the speech if you like, but the things you'd dislike would be the same things that made him so great. Long live Michael Jordan, the greatest there ever was.
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Christ Jesus
September 15th, 2009 - 1:47:57 PM
Stockton sure was a good one. Im a Magic fan, so Im biased. I love the old fashioned point guards and though he was great, i hate MJ. He is the sole reason we have so many selfish, ego-maniacal players these days.
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rose
September 15th, 2009 - 1:53:01 PM
there's a great article over at on the button about the michael jordan brand & his acceptance speech...check it out: http://onthebutton.wordpress.com/2009/09/15/michael-jordan/
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Carmelo
September 15th, 2009 - 2:00:49 PM
Greatest basketball player of all time...possibly. Greatest athlete of all time...questionable. You can look at guys like Muhammad Ali for greatest athlete of all time in my opinion. You can look to Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, or Kareem for a good argument on greatest basketball player. Albeit, a probable losing argument, it would be interesting. Kevin notes Jordan's arrogance as one of things that drove his greatness. That may be true. But he isnt playing anymore. He isn't on the court, he has nothing to prove, he has nothing to gain. In my opinion, his two comebacks and his classless speach show what a truly empty life outside of basketball the man may really have. Do you really need to compete that badly? Is the most crowning acheivement of any personal career (teams win championships...the Hall is for individuals) to be used as a platform for more competition as opposed to SOLELY reflecting on your accolades and thanks to those who helped you get there?
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larrybud
September 15th, 2009 - 3:16:11 PM
So he says what would he, Robinson, Stockton, and Sloan have done without basketball? Jordan would have been on the back of a garbage truck and the other 3 would have been successful citizens. Robinson has a math degree from the naval academy so I wouldn't worry too much about him.
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really?
September 15th, 2009 - 8:13:44 PM
Really? Jordan would be on the back of a garbage truck? No...he'd be a millionaire business man. He has that innate drive and determination to be the best, which is what characterizes most successful men and women in the world. Jordan is a self confessed "competitive" person. He wanted to be the best, and used all of his life experiences to motivate him to get there. His speech was honest and humble in that he drew his inspiration to work harder from others who were also trying to be the best. When is it wrong to acknowledge someone who challenged you to be better? With his own sense of humor, that's what he did. You can call him arrogant or classless, but the fact of the matter is that he positively channeled all the perceived obstacles in his life to be arguable the best basketball player of all time. If you don't believe in yourself, nobody else will. Before you cast judgment on him, how much have you accomplished? He's earned the right to accept his place in history on his terms.
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Randy G.
September 15th, 2009 - 9:00:07 PM
Great comeback, Josef. Is that all you could come up with? How does a 10 year old, like you, get a column? You lost all credibility with your lame, juvenile article. It reads like a junior high school newspaper report. Let's see..... if someone (John Stockton) holds both of the all-time records for someone at his position (assists and steals), that makes a pretty good argument for him being the best player of all time at that position. He also shot 52% from the floor (3 points better than Jordan) for his career. Magic Johnson, Tiny Archibald, Isaiah Thomas, Bob Cousy or Oscar Robertson would be some other good choices for the greatest point guard of all time, but the stats point to Stockton. Jordan doesn't have the all-time scoring record or most titles, so how can you claim that he is the greatest player of all time, let alone the greatest athlete of all time? He isn't the record holder for most points (3rd) or have the most titles (Bill Russell had almost twice as many). The only records he holds are for individual scoring (selfish play even he admits). You could debate this all day long. As I said, the claim of greatest player of all time is a person's opinion. You could find merit and fault with anyone's argument. I am not a Laker's fan, but Magic was a lot more versatile player, which makes him a more complete player than Michael. But Magic was not as self centered as Michael and gave more credit to others and took less of it for himself. You could make an argument for a dozen players. It comes down to your opinion vs. somone elses. No one's opinion is wrong, because it is their opinion.
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indianajones
September 16th, 2009 - 1:48:14 PM
Jordan certainly isn't the greatest athlete of all time. Jim Thorpe is. No one can match his track and field, professional football and baseball accomplishments. By comparison, Michael Jordan is a basketball player.
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Yosef Solomon
September 16th, 2009 - 8:30:49 PM
Randy Randy Randy... If this reads like a high school news report why bother responding. Sounds to me like you were rather intrigued by what I had to say and decided to right double the length of the article to get my attention.... Ps. I love how you spelled my name right in the first comment and then purposefully misspelled it in the last... This back and forth is great!
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Rob in Toronto
September 17th, 2009 - 7:14:05 PM
I saw a brief snip of the acceptance speech and had no idea what Jordan said prior to "there won't be another Michael Jordan". That statement is actually true from a basketball perspective but for the man himself to state this is 1) egotism beyond description 2) extremely disrespectful to those inductees present and those who have been inducted Indiana Jones you have a good point about Jim Thorpe for sure. if anyone wants to be inspired learn about an incredible athlete and story of perserverence that will dwarf anything thes eathletes have ever done or spoken of. go to http://www.terryfox.org/Foundation/
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Rob in Toronto
September 17th, 2009 - 7:16:42 PM
I saw a brief snip of the acceptance speech and had no idea what Jordan said prior to "there won't be another Michael Jordan". That statement is actually true from a basketball perspective but for the man himself to state this is 1) egotism beyond description 2) extremely disrespectful to those inductees present and those who have been inducted Indiana Jones you have a good point about Jim Thorpe for sure. if anyone wants to be inspired learn about an incredible athlete and story of determination that will dwarf anything these athletes have ever done or spoken of. go to: http://www.terryfox.org/Foundation/ And yes I am Canadian.......
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Charles
September 18th, 2009 - 3:35:34 AM
I hate to admit i,but this does reek of an article from a high school newspaper,or a member of the Michael Jordan fan club. I admire Jordan, but even I can admit he comes across as a jerk. And to say to someone that thinks that Stockton is the best point guard of all time "loses credibility" is foolish. He may not be the best, but you don't "lose credibility" for having that opinion. Now I see where you said Jordan is inarguably the greatest player of all time. You lose your credibility with that statement ironically LOL. Ever heard of Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain. No credible basketball writer would make that statement. I see why someone would think this article was written by a college student, or someone younger, due to the lack of perspective.
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Mackeson
September 21st, 2009 - 6:21:50 AM
I'm sorry, but I must agree that this does not seem like an objective news article, but rather a fan piece. It is almost universal in the opinion that Jordan's speech was in bad taste and exhibited boorish, egotistical behavior. The attitude of the "writer" of this article expressing that Jordan can say and act however he wants due to him being the greatest is extremely weak. In fact, it's not even relevent. Web pages like this which have the look and feel of legitimate straight news sources but just contain the unfettered ramblings of any random person are a product of the blog age in which we live. Dealing with criticism is part of being a writer.
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Brad in Muskoka
September 28th, 2009 - 6:40:51 AM
Well, I am not a basketball fan at all (hockey is my sport) so I bring no personal biases into this at all. All I can tell you is that in my opinion a truly "great" person is one that is humble, openly appreciates those who helped to get them to where they are (or were), does not put themselves on a pinnacle and MOST CERTAINLY does not use a public forum such as what Jordan used (or any forum for that matter) to openly belittle and embarrass those who were a part of his career. If Jordan had all these issues and hidden emotions with the people he fingered, he should have let them know about it a long time ago and it should have been dealt with way back when. If Jordan had been able to deal with this properly years ago, he may have been an even better player and especially - a better person. In my opinion it was absolutely disgusting, completely arrogant and insanely juvenile to do what he did. He needs to profusely apologize to save some face. I don't care what happened in his life or how good he ever was, it does not give anyone the right to spout off like that - especially when you have been held in such high regard by so many people for so long. His fans deserved better than that. This is the problem in the world today and the fact that people like Yosef think it is ok to do what he did, tell me why we have so many problems in the selfish world in which we live. You want to see a great player as well as a highly respectable and honest person? Take a look at Steve Yzerman... need I say more??? In my opinion Jordan is but a piece of dirt as compared to Yzerman.
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Gedas
October 1st, 2009 - 2:33:17 AM
where is Kanye when you need him ;D
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