Open Letter to Michael Jordan

Dear Michael Jordan,

We'd like to thank you for the excellent example you set for NBA stars to follow in the years to come. Our coaches and various on-air personalities continually tell us to look to you for inspiration and guidance. We have, and we thank you.

Thank you for your example that yelling at teammates shows leadership and passion rather than camera-friendly exhibitionism and off-putting narcissism.

Thank you for your example that demanding the ball on every play down the stretch is a fundamentally sound strategy rather than easily-defended selfishness and short-sightedness.

Thank you for making NBA fans think that passing the ball to a teammate in the final seconds is a sign of weakness rather than a clever and logical reaction to a tight defense.

Thank you for winning so many championships that no one remembers it took you four years to lead the Bulls to a winning record and six years for the Bulls to win more than 50 games.

Thank you for helping encourage NBA stars to think of themselves as endorsers and brand names first and players who love the game second.

Thank you for making sure that any player in the 6'4" -6'8" height range will be compared to a legend's highlight film rather than a current head-to-head rival.

Sincerely,

Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Carmelo Anthony.

(Written in annoyance the day after Christmas, after hearing one too many NBA commentators use "Such-and-such should" followed by a Michael Jordan reference.)