Nick Saban, Michael Jordan continue to impact lives | ELAINE HARRIS SPEARMAN

I have written in this space about sports being the great equalizer. As I looked at my discussion on the promotion of teamwork, the need for every person to be full on to achieve victory, I saw something else.

A new breed of multimillionaires and billionaires is being created. They are coming from the sports world.

These “nouveau riche” are not the rich that we have seen from inherited wealth, or the “Wall Street” rich. They seem to be people who have led real lives, held jobs in the real world and understand that they have enough to make a difference in the lives of others.

There are those who brag about how rich they are but they have never given one thin dime for charitable use, or the elimination of diseases that affect Americans in prolific numbers. Research takes money to find a cure for the many things that kill people every minute of the day.

The majority of people will lead average, ordinary lives. Many will feel that they were denied the opportunity to be great. There will be people who are under-housed, the under-fed, the under-paid, and the under-respected and unsung.

It takes a certain kind of internal character to see the world and people as they are. It is a different kind of epiphany to realize that a great many people need help, and that to whom much is given, much is required. It is an awakening that you can make a difference that actually impact lives, young and old.

Over the past several weeks, the people of Alabama have witnessed two GOATs (Greatest Of All Time) on Alabama soil. I am speaking of Nick Saban and Michael Jordan.

Saban is so deserving of being called GOAT. Yes, for his coaching, but a bigger yes for how he coached, and what he imparted to those whom he coached, and the pride that he caused throughout the state. People who don’t know or like each other can come together on “Roll Tide.”

His greatness was further evidenced when he and the Tide team came together to finish the Habitat for Humanity "LANK House" in Tuscaloosa. It is so named, according to Miss Terry, by the players' slogan “Let All Naysayers Know.”

The house is a tribute to Nick’s 2023 squad that has been tagged by sports people as Nick's last squad, for hard work, perseverance and overcoming adversity, according to coach Saban.

Nick's Kids Foundation has accomplished many projects, including an educational wing at the detention center which helps teach incarcerated youth a job skill.

Saban said, “One of the things that make him most proud as a coach is how many of his players go on and have success and establish their own foundations to help people and have the compassion for other people to help them.”

This gentleman from Fairmont, West Virginia, has made a difference in Alabama. How much better would the world be if more men thought along the Saban line of thinking?

I had no problem reading that coach Saban attends Mass before each of his games. So many people have taken their faith and made a prop out of it to be hauled out when needed. The coach, in the meantime, quietly goes about being true to his basic principles.

The other GOAT on Alabama soil in recent weeks was basketball star Michael Jordan. It appears that he began his relationship with Alabama when he played baseball for the Birmingham Barons from 1994-1995 for a break after the death of his beloved father. I remember being very put out that he would go to a state that treated people who looked like him very poorly.

He is now an astute businessman and back on Alabama soil with co-ownership of 23XI Racing. We watched him as his car with Tyler Reddick driving won at the Talladega Superspeedway.

We witnessed the exchanges with Reddick’s wife and children. It seemed an unfamiliar look in a place where for so many years the guest wanted, seemingly, to portray car racing as a Confederate flag event, deterring attendance by a great many people with an interest.

So maybe my disdain at Michael Jordan coming to Alabama in 1994 was misplaced. There was a reason. One of those reasons was Bubba Wallace, who had his first NASCAR win in 2021.

Money is green and has no Confederate flag on it. In my opinion, Michael Jordan and Bubba Wallace have made a difference at the speedway and in car racing.

Bubba Wallace spoke out. I doubt that he could have done that so openly and clearly with an owner other than Michael Jordan, born in Brooklyn, New York.

Michael Jordan has recently said that NASCAR must change and that it will die without new charter agreements. He may be the catalyst needed to improve this very popular sport for everybody involved. As people thrill to the speed, the crashes, and the sheer energy, they cannot forget that the lives of the drivers, their families, the guys in the pit all matter.

The GOAT may just be the answer.

Elaine Harris Spearman, Esq., a Gadsden native, is an attorney and is the retired legal advisor to the comptroller of the City of St. Louis. The views expressed are her own. 

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Nick Saban, Michael Jordan bring out the best | ELAINE HARRIS SPEARMAN