“Republicans buy shoes, too.” Michael Jordan, Episode 5, The Last Dance
There’s a reason that some entertainers stay away from political statements, as it divides the audience, hence making it often a no-win situation. Granted, the two-system party and the divisiveness that it causes is by design, as politics, especially in America, is more of a work than pro wrestling, and it’s more profitable, too.
Still, the fact remains that the pubic, especially the casual fans, don’t want anything, right or wrong, to interfere with their entertainment value. That includes sports as well since even the competition of the pro leagues is still a form of entertainment. If you want pure competition, that’s what the amateur ranks are for, and that’s why the Olympics draw an audience once every four years. When Floyd Mayweather artfully dodged punches throughout the mid-2000s on his way to a relatively short run as the top star in boxing since his hand-picked opponents led to glorified exhibitions, not competitive bouts, fans still flocked to see him fight, despite the fact that he threw punches at women outside of the ring during several different domestic violence incidents over the years.
Mayweather is a coward because he hit women, but that’s just my opinion, and it’s up to each person to make that individual decision as to where they draw the moral line in the sand. Some say that Jon Jones is the greatest MMA fightwe of all time, I’d say that he underachieved and wasted most of his talent with a laundry list of legal issues during his career. At the same time, nobody really celebrates OJ Simpson as a running back so there’s a limit to how much fans will ignore to get their piece of the entertainment pie.
However, nobody wants to be told, especially by the people that they are paying to entertain them, what they should or shouldn’t support, or what causes should be considered worthwhile.
For example, Michael Jordan understood that in the business world, the bottom line is to make as much money as possible. The easiest way to do that is to have the biggest potential customer base as possible. During his legendary NBA career, a tenure that many have said cemented him as the greatest to ever play the game, he made an estimated $94 million. The past thirty years of endorsement deals, Jordan earned and estimated $3 billion, with the vast majority of that fortune from his iconic Nike contract that has spanned three decades.
Mike was right, republicans buy shoes, too.
When it comes to the amount of money, at some point it becomes just numbers on a page, but as a comparison, Jordan never rocked the boat by weighing in on social or political issues. Sure, he was a role model for black youth in his prime, as many sports stars are for younger generations of all backgrounds, but he wasn’t going to take a personal stance in matters outside of his area of expertise, the game of basketball, because “picking a side” so to speak, even when common courtesy dictates an obvious answer, will sour a portion of the audience, which are customers of the product. On the flip side, LeBron James, who has made his own argument as the best to ever step on the court, has taken an active role in social and political issues. As a result, right or wrong, LeBron is seen as a polarizing figure, whereas Jordan is unanimously praised. The audience can’t judge an opinion if one isn’t stated, and that ambiguity translates to more potential cash from a variety of revenue streams.
Muhammad Ali lost three years of the prime of his career because he objected to being sent to war based on his religious beliefs, and was vilified at the time for it. It took years before he was fully embraced again as the rightfully global icon that he is. Make no mistake, political opinions matter and sacrifices are made when they are stated.
That’s why I’m not sure if All Elite Wrestling world champion, Adam Page’s post on social media objecting to ICE commercials during this week’s episode of Dynamite is a wise decision in the grand scheme of things.
Don’t get me wrong, Adam Page absolutely has the right to speak his mind, and he might have a point, but the possible outcome compared to the negative PR might not be worth it. To put it in perspective, Warner Brothers Discovery is the parent company that TBS falls under, which is also the same parent company of CNN, the most prominent liberal network on cable. The bottom line is, if the United States government wants to buy commercial time on the Discovery networks, their money is still green. Cash is king, and Discovery is willing to take money from the ICE advertisement budget regardless of the political message behind it.
The fact that they are trying to recruit local yokels that want to play Rambo to be a part of a law enforcement group even if Billy Bob from the shallowest gene pool in the union has no business being involved is irrelevant. Again, cash is king, and if Warner Brothers Discovery is willing to run ICE ads, it shows that their political standards go as far as the dollar spends. The point being, if the network is willing to take the cash despite well-known liberal affiliations with CNN, Adam Page is objecting to the network that airs the commercials, not the ICE agency itself.
The whole situation is rather messy and that’s why nuance is so important, but in the modern social media age, nuance is often completely ignored. There’s undoubtedly a humanitarian side to the immigration debate, as people are willing to leave their homeland with nothing, but the clothes on their back for a chance to pursue a better life in the United States. At the same time, ignoring the problem also implies that breaking the law will be tolerated. Ironically, ICE didn’t become a hot topic until the orange villain, who was convicted of 34 felons, decided to use scare tactics as a political strategy. There have been illegal immigration skits in movies for literally fifty years, as Cheech and Chong were accidentally sent back to Mexico despite being US citizens in their 1975 cult classic, Up in Smoke. Cheeto Trump pushed the narrative of the Mexican boogeyman, and old white people everywhere often honestly believed what they were being told. The fact that the other side of the aisle fumbled their opportunities more than WCW fumbled Goldberg didn’t help matters.
Ironically, the US government currently being shut down underscores how much of a circus the entire political landscape is, and when the country reaches a point such as this, there aren’t any winners. We’re all counting the lights while the suites in Washington get to strategize for their next fundraiser.
Remember, politics is more of a work than sports entertainment, and it’s more profitable, too.
The point being, the immigration situation is a very complex topic, does any pro wrestling company want to step in that mess? As mentioned, it’s a no-win situation, as anything political has the potential to divide the audience. Sure, when you consider the critical immigrant workforce, in some ways the horse is out of the barn so to speak. At the same time, it’s reasonable to think that everyone will support criminals being detained. I’d say that the waitresses and Home Deport workers that have been in the country for decades aren’t a threat, nor should they be a priority of law enforcement. I know, a common sense approach to anything is unthinkable these days.
Either way, it’s simply not wise for Hangman Page to encourage fans to contact TBS or HBO Max. Is a petition from a pro wrestler really going to make Discovery decide not to take the money for the ICE ads? It’s doubtful, but it’s more than possible that the network wouldn’t be too thrilled with one of their television shows criticizing one of the groups that pay them for ads.
Furthermore, given that Jimmy Kimmel was given an unwanted week-long vacation from the air after the director of the FCC tried to pressure ABC, is it wise to potentially agitate a political subject for a show on TBS?
I understand that the WWE obviously has political ties, the McMahons donate millions of dollars to Trump’s election efforts, and Linda was rewarded with positions in his cabinet during both terms, but it’s a different dynamic for the WWE when they are so closely associated with the current administration. Furthermore, the TKO corporation is careful to tiptoe the line and keeps their political connections away from the product and mostly the audience as well. The publicity photos are more for the stockholders than anything else. Along with that, much like the fans that ignored Mayweather’s domestic violence, the criminal case against Conor McGregor, and the legal woes of Jon Jones, the vast majority of the WWE sheep would follow the product even if they was a political spin to WWE programming. The fact that there isn’t shows that the TKO corporation understands that there’s no benefit to souring a portion of the audience.
Adam Page might have a point, but it’s moot. The network getting paid to run the ICE ‘ads is the entire point of the television business. The bottom line is, it’s doubtful that Page’s social media post gets the ad taken off the air during Dynamite broadcasts so the only result might be to sour a portion of the audience, which isn’t a wise move for a show that already had a decline in ratings during the past few years.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
Email [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
