Michael Jordan's betrayal?

Looks like Michael Jordan has been outed.

He’s a stone cold capitalist, no doubt about it.

The iconic former basketball star is now a majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats and as such, is among the leaders in the move to break the NBA players union. Reports say he strongly believes players deserve far less than the 50 percent split the NBA has offered.

This from a guy who as a player said if you can’t afford to play the piper, sell the team.

Still, I’m not all that aggravated by Jordan’s about-face for one reason: He was one of the few players who could demand an enormous salary and back it up with results. Jordan won six NBA rings. He’s widely considered the greatest player of all time.

One report when was playing said he generated $40 million to the Chicago economy each time the Bulls played a home game. So for him to demand a huge salary wasn’t out of line. For Peja Stojakovic to make $14 million is outrageous. (Andrei Kirilenko at $17 million was ridiculous, too.)

Frank Layden, the former Jazz coach and president, told me in the mid-1990s that there was only one player in the NBA (at the time) who fans would pay to see, beyond their own teams: Jordan.

So while Jordan’s stand might smack of hypocrisy, it should be noted that he’s one of the few players who actually generated more than he earned. The same can’t be said of many players today.