Sam Smith dedicated many years of his life to covering Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls during the ’80s and ’90s. In the process, Smith got to know Jordan off the court, a side of him that most NBA fans didn’t know back then.
As the face of the NBA, Jordan was well aware of how important it was to keep his public image in pristine condition. The moment he reached unprecedented success as a player, MJ already understood that it was a huge burden to be the NBA’s poster boy and Smith knew it as well.
“Even before anything, in the ’80s, I remember talking to him about that. He said I’ve been set up to this image that I feel I have to live up to, and if people see me other than as this image — and he’s not a bad person or anything — but acting out normally, will it affect the way they view me,” Smith told Hartford Courant in 2020.
I think that’s what angered him about “The Jordan Rules” and the other stuff that came out with gambling — that people will see him in a negative way.”
The Jordan Rules did the opposite to MJ’s image
Smith insisted that he was in no way trying to tarnish Jordan’s public image when he decided to write the controversial book. His aim was to provide readers and fans with an in-depth look at what was going on within the entire Bulls organization, not just Mr. Air.
Unfortunately, it didn’t play out the way Smith expected it. Instead, the publisher spun his work and turned it into a Jordan book. It appeared as if MJ had been perfect for so long and a book is now available for those who wanted to know about his flaws.
As Smith described it, Jordan was deeply concerned about the reception of the readers and how bad it would impact his image. However, what MJ feared didn’t happen. Instead, fans admired him even more.
“All the out-of-context reports initially after the book came out was like, “Oh, this guy’s a jerk,” and he wasn’t. He thought that would trickle down to his image and the sponsors and all that, and of course it never did,” Smith added. “It had the opposite effect.”
Jordan’s image was meant to be in dire straits
With or without the Jordan Rules, Bulls head coach Phil Jackson believed His Airness would eventually face some troubles in protecting his public image, but it wasn’t because of him. Jackson explained that it’s really how it goes when someone has already been patronized so much that they look bad when their human side begins to show.
“You realize how many people he’s in a position to reach, to influence, and so do his sponsors… It’s like the Gatorade’ I want to be like Mike’ campaign. Whoever thought it up, it’s brilliant. But it’s geared to kids,” he pointed out. “Michael’s life has to somehow live up to this now. That’s the price,” Jackson told The New York Times in 1992.
In retrospect, it’s both intriguing and interesting to discover that the NBA and Jordan’s sponsors put him in a situation he didn’t ask for. Fortunately for MJ, the love of his passionate fans was stronger than anything negative that they heard and learned about him.