Michael Jordan, Do the Right Thing!

What's up people? Okay, The G-man has to get something off his chest once and for all. Even though this incident took place nearly 10 years ago, it still bothers me to no end. Thus, I wanted to share it with you folks, get your take on it, and attempt to finally exorcise this damn demon. I realize that many, many people will take issue with this article and may even want a piece of me. I have three words for them. Get in line! You ready? Let's do this.

In 1999, a highly regarded 48-member panel from ESPN's "SportsCenter" selected the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century. The distinguished honor went to former Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan. Baseball icon Babe Ruth finished in second place. Truth be told, there were many celebrated athletes that were given serious consideration because of their contributions on and off the field or court. However, I did not agree with this choice at all! While Jordan does indeed deserve "props", I strongly feel the athlete that defined the 20th century, without question, was Jesse Owens. What Owens accomplished in the 1936 Olympic Games, in track and field competitions and symbolically, was nothing short of remarkable.

Owens shattered world records by winning four gold medals, which included the 100 meters in 10.3, the long jump at 8ft and 6 inches, the 200 meters in 20.7, and leading off the 4 x 100 meters that broke the World Record with an earth-shattering time of 39.8 seconds. Sports analysts and historians have noted that this feat was comparable to those of Owens' contemporaries, namely Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson. Hence, making it seem as though Owens' performance was nothing out of the ordinary by today's standards. I beg to differ and here's why.

What separates Owens as a sports icon, and the true athlete of the century, is the fact that he achieved Olympic glory against Adolph Hitler's so-called Aryan or "Master" race of athletes. Moreover, Owens didn't obliterate them on American soil, but in Berlin, Germany! The Aryans were supposed to be the best, strongest, and fastest athletes on the face of the earth because of their "pure German blood", but Owens ran twice as fast and jumped three times as high as any of Hitler's Master Race participants. I'll take this argument to another level entirely by stating the following. Owens' legendary and unprecedented performance served as an eerie premonition for Hitler, and the Aryan Nation, that they could and would be defeated in World War II.

Owens was undoubtedly the first and only person to get into Hitler's psyche, confute the evil leader's concept of total world domination, and absolutely demolish the image of his precious, little Aryans. I'll stick this comment in for good measure, too. Owens was also responsible for giving Hitler his very first American ass kicking, and this country must never, ever forget that.

Sadly, the worst was yet to come, as Owens later noted, "I wasn't even invited to the White House to shake hands with the President." To add insult to injury, after a New York ticker-tape parade Owens had to ride in a freight elevator while attending a reception honoring him at the Waldorf-Astoria. Blacks were not allowed through the front entrance of the hotel. How sad and pathetic is that? Owens had soundly defeated "America's enemy", only to return home to be treated like just another nigger. Snubbed by Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, it would be 40 years before Owens received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Gerald Ford, and another 14 years before President George H.W. Bush awarded him the Congressional Gold Medal. Somehow, I suspect Michael Jordan never had to suffer such indignity, hatred and racial injustice over a 40 year span.

I don't care whose name sports analysts throw out there, be it Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, the late Florence Griffith-Joyner, Joe Montana, Tiger Woods, Althea Gibson, Muhammad Ali, Arthur Ashe, Summer Sanders, Marc Spitz, Jack Dempsey, Rocky Marciano or my favorite QB of all time, Terry Bradshaw. No one will ever come close to the level of greatness and historic significance of Jesse Owens. Don't get me wrong. I respect his stats and championship rings, but if Michael Jordan was real, he would've said the same thing regarding Owens, publicly, and dedicated the ESPN award to Owens' memory and legacy. To this very day, The G-man thinks Jordan should "man-up".

Jesse Owens is, without question, the athlete of the century. At a time when champion athletes are being stripped of medals, titles, glory, fame, financial reward, honor and self-respect for using performance enhancing drugs, Jesse Owens deserves to be placed on the pinnacle of the sports world. Thank you for your phenomenal contribution to sports and American culture, Jesse. Black, white, Asian, Greek or Jew, we will always love you for standing up, defeating Hitler, and being a great symbol of humanity in the wake of immense disrespect by your own country. Rest in peace... my dear elder and hero.