It would seem that the last person to criticize Kobe Bryant for not living up to the legacy of Michael Jordan would be either of Jordan's sons. Marcus Jordan, the son of Michael, has spent his entire life being ridiculed for the fact that he never has been or will be even a fraction of what his father once was. No one dogs Marcus out for the fact that he can't live up to Michael, because no one really can. The problem is that Marcus decided that he was going to attack Kobe Bryant (you know, the guy in Los Angeles with five championship rings), for not matching up to his father's playing ability.

On his Twitter page, Marcus decided to tweet the following (I will spell and capitalize exactly the way Marcus posted it):

"NO ONE.....and I mean NO ONE should EVER com par kobe Bryant to my dad an say that he is anywhere near close to my dad He's jagging this game"

Later during the game, ABC posted some statistics comparing Jordan and Bryant in the championship, and Marcus went on to tweet:

"I know y'all just seen the stats too" and "no comparison "

You see, the things that Marcus Jordan says to defend his father are certainly worthy of consideration. Many basketball fans might agree with him. The problem for Marcus is that he shouldn't be the one saying any of this, because Marcus is...well...a scrub. Long considered to be the more talented of the Jordan sons, Marcus averaged a "stellar" eight points and 3.1 rebounds for mighty Central Florida last season.

Don't get me wrong, Central Florida might be better than some of the other schools named after a section of their home state, but it's not as if he's playing for Duke. It's also not as if being Michael Jordan's son wouldn't have given him the chance to show his skills at any school in the country.

I find Marcus Jordan's words to be the musings of a confused college student who is proudly stuck under his father's shadow. He may never have learned what it means to work hard for things, since he has been royalty since birth. While Kobe's dad was also an NBA player at one point, Kobe had to fight hard to claim his space on a team that was dominated by Shaquille O'Neal in one of the largest media markets in the world.

He also had to overcome the humiliation of rape allegations to rebuild his image and find a way to win championships under the harshest media scrutiny imaginable. To start and successfully complete such a daunting mission, after skipping college as a 17-year-old kid, puts Kobe in a whole different universe from the guy who started as Michael Jordan's son and ended up as a mediocre player at Central Florida.

Marcus Jordan may want to be quiet and let his father's fans defend his record. He shouldn't be saying anything.





Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and the author of the new book, "Black American Money." To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.