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Michael Jordan

Source: Jordan Brand / Jordan Brand

This year has seen NBA great Michael Jordan depart his notorious silence on politics or social justice, something for which he has been heavily critiqued in the past.

However, in the spirit of giving, His Airness has pledged to donate $2 million to the charity Feeding America of proceeds from ESPN’s The Last Dance, a ten-part docu-series chronicled the Chicago Bulls’ 1997-1998 season and their pursuit of a sixth NBA championship.

This gesture comes in a line of marked and welcome change in MJ’s stance toward involvement or commentary regarding any kinds of community issues.

“I do commend Muhammad Ali for standing up for what he believed in,” Jordan said. “But I never thought of myself as an activist. I thought of myself as a basketball player.”

But after the police-related killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, and in light of protests around the world, the Jordan Brand issued a statement in June, promising to donate $100 million over the next decade. Its objectives include a means of providing education and opportunities for Black youth, asserting that “Black lives matter. This isn’t a controversial statement.”

Shouting out his home state and the city where he made his mark as basketball’s GOAT, the organization shared a quote from Jordan on its Twitter page that read, “In these challenging times and in a year of unimaginable difficulty due to COVID-19, it’s more important than ever to pause and give thanks. I am proud to be donating additional proceeds from The Last Dance to Feeding America and its member food banks in the Carolinas and Chicago to help feed America’s hungry.”

If you’d also like to donate to Feeding America, you can give back here.