This assumes too much about Jordan's psychology. Yes, he was aware that a great deal of money was riding on his image, and he was could be very shrewd and even

This assumes too much about Jordan's psychology. Yes, he was aware that a great deal of money was riding on his image, and he was could be very shrewd and even his cynical when it came to business, viz., his remark that "Republicans buy sneakers, too." But this picture of Jordan as ruthless utility-maximizer and PR savant doesn't square with other things he's done, such as the raw spectacle he made of himself in his Hall of Fame induction speech. The man does not think like normal people.