The Last Dance” highlights how Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan experienced unreal levels of fame after being hailed as a role model for a younger generation, but that didn't come without its share of criticism. Perhaps one of the most significant things he was criticized for was his unwillingness to denounce Republican senate candidate Jesse Helms and openly support Harvey Gantt — something many in Chicago, including a young Barack Obama wanted to see.

The 44th President of the United States could see why Jordan took the stance he did back then after jokingly saying “Republicans buy sneakers too.”

Via Gabriel Fernandez of CBS Sports:

“I'll be honest, when it was reported that Michael said ‘Republicans buy sneakers too,' for somebody who was at that time preparing for a career in civil rights law and public life, and knowing what Jesse Helms stood for, you would have wanted to see Michael push harder on that,” Obama said. “On the other hand, he was still trying to figure out, ‘How am I managing this image that has been created around me, and how do I live up to it?'”

If there's someone who understands what it means to be in the magnifying scope of the public eye, it's Obama, who served two terms as POTUS.

Jordan himself admitted in “The Last Dance” that line was something he said “off the cuff” while on a bus, not to be taken as a serious characterization of who he is.

While athletes today are often not shy of siding with their candidate of choice (LeBron James is an example of a current superstar who wades into political activism), Jordan's fame and impact was totally unprecedented at the time, something he tried to manage by watching his words wisely, even if it came at the cost of some criticism.