Michael Jordan Essay

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Jonathan Kawula ENGL 102 Adam Mills 02/17/14 Michael Jordan: King of the Windy City What differentiates an icon from a celebrity? How do their actions make or break their career? Some of the most influential icons show essential qualities such as dignity, integrity, and sportsmanship while exhibiting tremendous talents to the world. However, icons can also display their characteristics negatively in the media because of bad judgment and decisions that put their careers in jeopardy. Today’s youth are influenced by many artists that have criminal records and people that are famous because of bad decisions that got them front page news. Not many celebrities in the limelight have a “clean slate,” and most don’t have a scotch free past either. However, some icons are dignified because they choose to make good decisions with their status rather than exploit and abuse it like so many others do. Michael Jordan is one of the few iconic celebrities of our time that could represent himself responsibly and make conscious decisions on and off the court. Besides his abilities and his accomplishments, Michael Jordan has had such a good public image during and after his playing days, an example of this is written in his retiring ceremony article “ Jordan had such an effect on global society that descriptions of incredible athletes in other sports began with: "He/she is the Michael Jordan of ... "(Thiel). He didn’t put his status before his values, which makes him a great example of a role model. However, what makes him an icon beyond the sports world, and why should the non-sports world care about him? The word “icon” is defined as a good representation of an image, concept, or principle. Jordan represents the image of a reputable and dignified celebrity, he defied the typecast of celebrities being involved in scandals and negative activities that humiliate careers. Today’s

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