When you cast Ben Affleck alongside his best friend Matt Damon, Academy Award winner Viola Davis, and established actors like Chris Tucker (Rush Hour), Marlon Wayans (White Chicks) and Jason Bateman (Dodgeball), in a Michael Jordan biopic, you might just be getting a certified classic.

With Ben Affleck’s proven track record of helming successful projects like Argo and The Town, there’s excitement surrounding the film. However, capturing the essence of an icon like Michael Jordan is no easy feat, and the accuracy of the portrayal has been a major talking point ever since the film Air aired (no pun intended). 

Well, it is not uncommon for films to bend the truth a little, adding that dramatic flair to reel the audience in seems to always be the right call when it comes to meeting box office numbers.

Ultimately, a film like Air is definitely going to make its rounds among sneakerheads and fans of His Airness and create a huge discourse. With that in mind, let’s take a look at what factual elements were depicted incorrectly.

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The real “influence” of Sonny Vaccaro 

In retrospect, Matt Damon’s Sonny Vaccaro character was the main character as the film played along. But how important was he in influencing Michael Jordan to take up the Nike deal? 

In the film, Sonny Vaccaro’s job at Nike was basically finding young college basketball stars to be their spokespeople, but things weren’t exactly going great. As the film progresses, he gets this crazy idea to put all their eggs in one basket— on a super-talented player named Michael Jordan who’s about to blow up.

The movie makes it seem like Sonny totally convinced Jordan’s parents to ditch the other big brands like adidas and Converse and go with the underdog, Nike. Spoiler alert, the deal worked out pretty well given the legacy of the brand deal we are witnessing this very moment.

Except, maybe things weren’t quite as clear-cut as the movie shows. Apparently, Phil Knight doesn’t think Sonny deserves all the credit. He says a bunch of people (including Sonny, of course) want to take credit for signing Jordan.

The film makes Sonny look like the big hero, but Knight says he just played a supporting role. Even Jordan seems to agree since he left Sonny out of his Netflix show The Last Dance. However, it was a guy named George Raveling (played by Marlon Wayans) that was the one whispering in Jordan’s ear about going with Nike.

Records show Raveling did help set up an early meeting with Jordan, so Sonny probably still had some part in things thanks to his connection with Raveling. But when it came to the final pitch to Jordan, Jordan himself said another guy named Rob Strasser (played by Jason Bateman) was the real leader.

Things got messy after that. Sonny left Nike, and then he went on to work at their competitor adidas with Strasser and Moore.

Sonny basically says Knight, Jordan, and Raveling are all lying to make themselves look good. He thinks he deserves all the credit because, according to him, nobody else even wanted Jordan and they didn’t know he was going pro. The guys who left Nike with him seem to agree with Sonny, but according to the film Air, it’s his own story to tell.

The role of Michael Jordan’s mother, Deloris Jordan

Viola Davis, a four-time Academy Award winner, elevates any film she’s in. But how accurately does Air depict Michael Jordan’s mother, Deloris?

Undoubtedly, Michael’s parents played a vital role in his early success. Deloris, in particular, managed many of his deals. Director Ben Affleck acknowledged this and expanded her role in the film to showcase Davis’ talent.

While the movie portrays Deloris as a key figure in the Nike deal, alongside Jordan’s agent David Falk, it exaggerates the emotional meeting with Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro. Vaccaro himself confirms a meeting occurred, but not in North Carolina as depicted. He simply approached Michael after a game, establishing a crucial connection.

The birth of Air Jordan

The iconic Air Jordans are ubiquitous these days, and the film attempts to explain their origin story. But how much truth is there to it?

Conflicting narratives surround the birth of the “Air Jordan” name. Most likely, Michael Jordan’s agent, David Falk, and Nike designer Peter Moore collaborated on it during a meeting with Rob Strasser.

Falk insists the name was his braindchild, a flash of inspiration: “‘It hit me in under a minute,'” he recounted in an interview. “‘Air Jordan’—it played on Nike’s new air-cushioned technology and perfectly captured Michael’s aerial style of play.” He claims this was followed by Moore’s swift sketch of the now-iconic logo.

The Nike deal

Hollywood loves to dramatize. In the film, Jordan supposedly makes a snap decision to join Nike after Sonny Vaccaro’s revolutionary pitch. Reality paints a different picture—negotiations dragged on for months. The movie portrays Vaccaro as a whirlwind, hopping on planes and showing up unannounced to pressure Jordan.

Vaccaro vehemently denies these scenes, claiming they’re pure invention. Instead, he spent a year cultivating a relationship with Jordan’s mother, Deloris, over the phone, convincing her adidas wasn’t the ideal fit.

The film also downplays Nike’s financial commitment. They weren’t limited to a measly quarter-million for a basketball player. In reality, they had $2.5 million, and Vaccaro fought to allocate it entirely to Jordan, rather than splitting it amongst multiple players.

Ultimately, a five-year deal landed Jordan with Nike, with a crucial perk: royalties for every shoe sold with his name. To this day, those shoes continue to rake in a staggering $100 million annually for Jordan.

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Air succeeds in capturing the excitement surrounding Michael Jordan’s rise to superstardom and the cultural impact of the Air Jordan brand. However, the film’s historical liberties raise interesting questions about the line between artistic license and factual accuracy.  

While some viewers may crave a strictly historical account, for others, the essence of Jordan’s legacy and the birth of a cultural phenomenon might be enough. Ultimately, the movie serves as a springboard for further exploration, prompting viewers to delve deeper into the true story behind the iconic brand.

Image Source: GQ, Looper

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