Is One College Athlete’s Preference Worth a University Losing a $3 Million Contract?

Marcus Jordan, Michael Jordan’s son, is attending the University of Central Florida (UCF) and playing on the school’s basketball team. Demand number one? He wants to wear Jordans because they hold a “special meaning.” This is absolutely ridiculous. One problem: adidas had an agreement with UCF to provide the school with athletic gear. Out of all the schools that have Nike as their sponsors, why did Marcus choose a school that adidas sponsors? I think this has more to do with a young, over-privileged kid wanting to stand out.

But what about the school? From reports, it sounds like they’ve been completely clueless as to what the big deal is about. They supposedly told Marcus that he could wear Jordans, even though the athletics program was in the middle of the contract with adidas. After the first game of the season where Marcus wore Jordans, adidas terminated its contract with UCF, and even then, UCF officials were dumbfounded about why adidas decided to cancel the agreement.

Will the university find another sponsor? Probably. I’m sure Nike is cooking up some kind of deal. But if UCF thought that by having Marcus would bring other athletic-gear companies to the table, why burn bridges with adidas? In cases like this, schools need to reinforce what’s best for the school and not take unnecessary risks just because a student wants to get his or her way.

In the team’s first game, UCF won, but did the Jordans that Marcus wore help his game? Let’s see:

• 1 point (0-3 from the field; 1-2 from the free-throw line)
• 0 rebounds
• 1 assist
• 1 turnover
• 3 steals
• 23 minutes

With numbers like that, the only thing he should be demanding is more practice. He’s got a long way to go to be like Mike.

Now don’t get me wrong; I enjoy watching and playing sports. But I just can’t stand the increasing number of spoiled, whiny athletes who only focus on themselves and don’t take their actions into consideration.

My point is, are young, unproven athletes right to wear and do what they want while playing on college teams, even if that means potentially damaging the integrity of the schools in the eyes of sponsors and the public?

Resources: nbcsports.msnbc.com; www.upi.com; ucfathletics.cstv.com.