European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 3, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Michael Jordan by the numbers Jordan s numbers Michael Jordan s 69-Point game March 28 at Cleveland attendance 20,273 bulls 117, Cleveland 113, of fam a it a a Rob. 1slo. 2nd 3rd 4th of total 23-37 21-23 10 16 pts. 15 20 10 8 69 score by quarters bulls 27 26 36 16 12 117 Cavaliers 26 24 28 27 8 113 Jordan s so plus scoring Points Date opponent Points Date opponent 69 3-28-90 Cleveland 52 12-17-87 Cleveland 63 4-20-86 Boston 52 2-26-88 Portland 61 3-4-87 Detroit 52 11-9-88 Boston 61 4-16-87 Atlanta 52 11-16-88 Philadelphia 69 4-3-88 Detroit 52 11-26-88 Denver 58 2-26-87 new Jgr Aey 52 12-20-89 Orlando 56 3-24-87 Philadelphia 50 11-1 -80 new York 55 5-1-08 Cleveland 60 4-13-87 Milwaukee 54 11 -3-89 Cleveland 50 3-18-88 Boston 53 1-8-87 50 4-22-88 Cleveland a 53 4-12-87 Indiana 50 2-16-89 Milwaukee 53 1-21-89 Phoenix 50 5-5-89. Cleveland source Chicago Tribune. It playoff game Krten John Bode the other Side of 3 w from Page 13 priority Over a in a sports illustrated article on the gang murders Jordan said that if it has reached the Point where kids lost their lives Over gym shoes maybe he should re evaluate his standing with Nike. The father of a 21 month old son his wife is expecting their second child in january Jordan has re evaluated and decided to stick with the company and work with them to solve some of the problems Quot i m asking other athletes parents professionals the Media to do the same thing this is How we Are going to be Able to change those attitudes. Its not going to get done by not advertising the shoe or not Selling a product. If we done to sell one product then it s going to be another product that a going to carry that gang s As for the charges that Nike has discriminatory hiring practices Jordan said it is unfair to single out just one corporation. Quot i would love to see More Blacks involved not just in Nike but in every corporation. That s something that you re going to see done Quot he vowed. The Only opposition i have is that i done to think that Nike should be the Only corporation singled out. There s a lot bigger corporations in America that Don t have Many or have any Blacks. Many major corporations not just Nike should give something Back to the and Jordan lauded Nike for their efforts in the Black Community. Quot i think Nike has done a hell of a Job in doing that but our status As being the no. 1 company in the world singles us out a Little bit More than we should be. I think every corporation should have the same Type of attention that Nike has been Jordan a Winner of the a bad a most valuable player award and defensive player of the year award credits his parents with developing his social conscience. Quot i came from a situation where i was taught what was a amps Ken George right and what was wrong that a what parents have to do two of the players he said he most admired Walter Davis and David Thompson have had Well documented problems with drug abuse Quot that just woke me up to the fact that it could affect anybody Quot Jordan said. A those pressures Are around and they succumbed to those and while he admired Davis and Thompson for their basketball talents he admires them More for their life accomplishments. Quot i still Admire them because they did t just fall Back. They did no to sit there and accept what was happening to them they turned their lives around. I admired them More for them doing Jordan saw How the pressures of being a professional athlete can drive some stars into drugs As soon As he arrived in the Aba As the bulls first round pick in 1984. Quot at Chicago i was thrown to the fire thrown to the wolves and i had to react by myself Quot Jordan said. Quot they had a lot of drug problems and attitude problems. But i came from a Good situation where i Learned How to know what was right and what was wrong. A the first thing i encountered was the drug problem when i got to Chicago i walked into a room where nine or 10 of the players were doing drugs. It Wasny to a familiar situation so i turned around. I m pretty sure the Guys got pissed off at me but they did no to Stop my Check two times a month so it did no to bother me. I did t feel comfortable with those Guys because of the things they did Quot two of the players on that team have since undergone drug rehabilitation a Quentin Dailey and Orlando Woolridge. Instead of joining the party Jordan Hung with Rod Higgins a Chicago native who was on that bulls squad for the 1984-85 season. Quot i became Good friends with Rod who was not one of the Guys in that room. We became Good friends and i Learned a lot from him. He taught me a lot about How to Deal with Aba while Jordan Learned How to Deal with Aba life from Higgins he has his own ideas about How to Deal with life off the court especially when it comes to drugs. Quot its something that we have to conquer a Jordan said. Quot if we done to then its going to damage our communities and damage our lives. We have to educate and convince people about the problems of drugs and How to combat them. A a in be Learned How to steer away from the drug situation and in a trying to pass that on to the kids. It s something that we have to get to the Bottom of and find out a Way to eliminate this Jordan is an All around athlete a 4-Handicap golfer who pounded two homers in batting practice at Chicago s Comiskey Park this summer one in the upper deck. While everybody knows Jordan can score on the court a he had a playoff record 63 Points against the celtics in 1986 a the question now is can he score on the streets to restore values in the kids who Admire him if his trip through Europe was any indication he can. The Bonn High school student Council saluted him for his efforts in the Battie against drugs making him an Early graduate of their drug abuse resistance education program. Department of defense dependents schools spokesman Frank o Gara lauded him by saying Quot or. Jordan you Are a Champion. A Champion at basketball yes. But in the eyes of parents and teachers a greater cd Dri Givi the Cai emite i Moi for Bifi qui pla1 Wal Jon Jon eve Thal Coli left Michael Jordan tries a different sport at Chicago a Comiskey Park. Below Jordan arrived by helicopter Tor his talk far left with students at Bonn american High school. I i iia m u Quot f a t in is amps Ken George it Ion for making the kind of statement against that you make and the kind of inspiration you fur kids today Quot Ras saluted in Frankfurt by the Germany chapter of Mega Psi Phi fraternity which he joined at North a for his Quot Fine positive leadership and the Ilion you provide As a role Model for our Mother with a child in Tow stood up at Frankfurt s Selub not to ask for an autograph but just to thank k the example he has set for Young Blacks Burghout the controversies of the last couple of a Jordan has kept the same level head he is known in he blows past two defenders and dishes off a Hass to one of his open teammates underneath a has Given me athletic skills and the knowledge to us i use Quot Jordan explained. Quot being a role i think its my obligation As Well As other athletes doctors other lawyers to go Back and give positive pne for other kids to follow. Hopefully those kids can he a better Michael Jordan or a better lawyer or an did not let the controversies affect him. In 51 one court i certainly done to think about the in h press is 9��?~n9t0 As me out there t0 i ave a 9��d time. Hopefully the people that Are l a Are 9oin9 to see that and enjoy themselves Quot k0st reco9n>zabe basketball player in the world Lodge that he besieged almost 9�es but he a d he a willing to put up with Coul Opportunity to accomplish some Good off the hit �s�?~�u9h or me to 90 out and eat and relax a Little Fri clip i in auto9raphs and be admired by kids is a p v a i proud to be in a situation like Jordan covered a number of topics during a press conference at the Terrace club in Frankfurt. A Quot t nil by Alan Greenberg Hartford courant Michael Jordan grew up Middle class in a Small town in North Carolina. He grew up with parents who loved him nurtured him. Parents who stayed married. Even when he became an Aba superstar and began reaping millions of dollars annually after signing with Nike it never dawned on him that inner City youths would Rob and murder each other Over the shoes he endorsed. But that s what s happening today in America s inner cities. And it happens not just to wearers of air Jordans it happens to wearers of Many types of sneakers jackets and major league baseball Caps worn and endorsed by pro stars and their teams. It happens because sneakers Are Macho status symbols and the shoe companies spend More than $200 million a year on seductive advertising aimed at impressionable kids. It happens because the top of the line shoes Are so expensive a Reebok a pumps retail for $170, air Jordans for $115 a that for some poor desperate directionless inner City kids the Only Way to get them seems to be through drug Money or mugging. It happens because gangs on whatever whim often identify themselves by a certain Brand of sneaker jacket Cap. Rival gangs will kill you on sight for wearing those clothes even if you re a non gang member totally unaware of their significance. It happens because we live in a warped society that pays lip service to our concern for our fellow Man yet has done Little to prevent the establishment of a permanent underclass in inner cities and isolated Rural pockets. There Are islands of misery where kids without love adult guidance Money or Hope Are bombarded and influenced by the same glitzy to programs and commercials that feed every viewer regardless of purchasing Power a steady diet of Flash and dash status and luxury. Not having the Money to buy something does t Lessen a person s appetite for it. It just makes the craving stronger. But these sneaker killings for want of a better term have Little to do with Money just status. Sneaker advertisers ignoring the fact that More than 80 percent of sneakers purchased in this country Are not used for sport claim that their commercials have to do with sports not status. They say they Are appalled that kids kill each other Over their product. But some people who run sporting goods stores especially in the inner City say that carrying certain brands attracts gangs. And that some of their Best customers make their purchases with drug Money. And that any shoe company spokesperson who claims not to know that drug Money is fueling this $5.5 billion Domestic Industry 1990 projection for . Sales has his head in the Sand. How can the proprietor Tell what a drug Money and a amps Michael Abrams r it a i f. What in to if a kid comes in with a 3-Inch wad of Bills buys 30 pairs of sneakers in 10 minutes and pays without waiting for change you can be fairly certain he a not outfitting the local Little league. In its May 14 cover Story your sneakers or your life sports illustrated reported that Wally Grigo who owns three sportswear shops in and around new Haven conn., put a sign in his window last August that read Quot if you Deal drugs we Don t want your business. Spend your Money somewhere Grigo told is he figured putting up the sign has Cost him $2,000 a week in drug Money sales. Who sat fault what can be done to Stop the horror of a human life being snuffed out for a pair of shoes failing that what Small Steps can be taken to Lessen its frequency this has been a hot topic of conversation among sportswriters in almost every pressroom i be visited the last two months. At first our discussions entered on the advertising superstar Jordan. As perhaps the most popular sports hero in our nation a Man who takes Pride in being a role Model for youth a Man who makes millions of dollars a year from Nike should he take a moral stand and Tell the shoe company he will Only endorse a much cheaper Model of the shoe should he make a Public service announcement telling drug dealers Quot Don t buy my shoes Quot should he Stop endorsing the product Jordan is greatly disturbed by the sneaker killings and by being linked to them however insanely and indirectly because he represents Nike and yes he could do one or All of the above things and some people a me included a would ionize him. But Why should a Black athlete like Jordan be held to a higher Standard than a White athlete that a racist. You can make a Case that John Mcenroe a spoiled brat behaviour on the Tennis court was a bad example for a generation of Young players. But Jordan is a shining example. Neither he nor any athlete endorser has anything to do with kids killing each other Over sneakers jackets or Caps. Besides sometimes there is no rhyme or reason to what shoes or sporting equipment Are is interviewed one manager of a Chicago foot locker store whose hottest shoe was a $39 Brand that he said had been around for 20 years. Who can predict fashion fads this much you can say its Good if shoe dealers follow Grigos Lead. It s Good if athletes become More vociferous in their anti drug messages in their opposition to criminals who would dare use the products they endorse. But it is the climate of desperation in americans inner cities the hopelessness embedded in its permanent underclass that must be addressed a with Money and Good programs not showboating political talk a if we Are Ever to curb and eliminate the Quot who cares a attitude that makes one Young Man murder another Over a pair of shoes. Somebody once said that a society is Best judged by the Way it treats its poor. If that be the Case we should hang our Heads in shame. Page 14 a a a the stars and stripes bub monday september 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 15
