ABSTRACT
In March 1995, two of the most potent black sporting symbols were released, one from prison, the other from baseball’s backwaters. Mike Tyson and Michael Jordan were the most successful African Americans in sports. They earned more money, more respect and, in Tyson’s case, more notoriety than any previous black athlete in history. Their absence from sport’s big league was agonizing. Tyson’s was enforced: he was found guilty of raping a beauty queen contestant in an Indianapolis hotel room and banished in ignominy. Jordan quit the Chicago Bulls with the plaudits ringing in his ears; he wanted to conquer his second sport, baseball, but fared poorly with the Chicago White Sox. Their returns had promoters rubbing their hands and advertisers reaching for their checkbooks. It was a unique return to action of two black males who had defined their sports and inspired the dreams of millions.
