Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete

William C. Rhoden, the author of this book, began his sports writing career in 1983 at the New York Times, retiring in 1996. He also wrote for the New York Times’ “Sports of the Times” column and has worked for ESPN as both consultant and guest. A nominee for the NAACP’s Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, Nonfiction, for Forty Million Dollar Slaves and a graduate of Morgan State University—where he played football—he lives in Harlem, New York.

Michael Jordan played for the Chicago Bulls from 1984 to 2003 and became widely seen as the greatest athlete of the 20th century. As an NBA legend, Jordan was groomed by sports attorneys to be one of the first black athletes to be used as a marketing tool, pitching everything from Nike products to Hanes underwear. Rhoden takes issue with Jordan’s lack of involvement in black politics.

Harris was an Olympic basketball star and one of the first women to dominate the game. In 1975, Harris led her unknown team from Delta State University in Mississippi to win their first of three consecutive national championships; in 1976, she was a medalist in the Olympic Games in Montreal. Despite her success as a player, she would eventually be all but forgotten as an athlete.