Michael Jordan forced to shut down US election rumour

Basketball icon Michael Jordan has been forced to shut down a wild rumour ahead of the US election on Wednesday.

Michael Jordan’s camp was forced to speak out after a viral post on social media suggested that the NBA legend had endorsed Donald Trump ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

The NY Post reports on Sunday, a post on X falsely claimed that the six-time NBA champion has “become the latest to endorse Donald Trump for President”.

The post instantly went viral, racking up thousands of likes and reposts. But the following day, Jordan’s reps denied that he has endorsed either candidate in the race to the White House.

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“There is absolutely no truth to the claim that Michael Jordan has made an endorsement in the presidential election,” Jordan’s reps told The Independent.

The basketball legend has made a conscious effort to keep his political views private over the years. The same goes for his personal life.

As he put it during the filming of his docuseries The Last Dance, released in 2020, Jordan said, “I never thought of myself as an activist. I thought of myself as a basketball player.”

Michael Jordan hasn’t endorsed a presidential candidate. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)

Back in 1990, Jordan decided against publicly endorsing Democrat Harvey Gantt during a North Carolina Senate race.

Gantt, a black democrat, was challenging Jesse Helms for a senate seat in North Carolina.

Some called on Jordan, who grew up in North Carolina, to endorse Gantt and do a commercial with him.

But instead, Jordan famously uttered the words, “Republicans buy sneakers, too.” Helms went on to win the race.

The NBA icon explained the controversial comment in The Last Dance, saying, “I don’t think that statement needs to be corrected because I said it in jest on a bus with Horace Grant and Scottie Pippen.”

“It was thrown off the cuff. My mother asked to do a PSA for Harvey Gantt, and I said, ‘Look, Mum, I’m not speaking out of pocket about someone that I don’t know. But I will send a contribution to support him.’ Which is what I did,” he went on.

“I do commend Muhammad Ali for standing up for what he believed in. But I never thought of myself as an activist. I thought of myself as a basketball player. I wasn’t a politician when I was playing my sport.”

“I was focused on my craft. Was that selfish? Probably. But that was my energy. That’s where my energy was,” he added.

Jordan, 61, is currently serving as the co-owner of the 23XI Racing NASCAR team. He sold his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets NBA team for an estimated $2.7 billion.

Michael Jordan owns the 23XI Racing NASCAR team. James Gilbert/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by James Gilbert / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

It comes just days after LeBron James endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president.

“What are we even talking about here??,” the Lakers star wrote on X. When I think about my kids and my family and how they will grow up, the choice is clear to me. VOTE KAMALA HARRIS!!!”

He also posted a video along with his message that included a montage of clips with Trump’s speeches, some of the recent Madison Square Garden rally and some videos from civil rights protests, which included the text: “Hate Takes Us Back” at the very end.

The endorsement from the 39-year-old James came as little surprise after he supported the Joe Biden-Harris ticket during the 2020 election.

This article originally appeared in the NY Post and was reproduced with permission.

Originally published as Michael Jordan forced to shut down US election rumour