When Michael Jordan left basketball for the second time in 1999, there was no doubt he was not just one of the greatest basketball players of all time, but one of the greatest athletes ever. Even so, he wasn’t done.
In 2000, Jordan became a 10% stakeholder in the Washington Wizards, as well as the team’s President of Basketball Operations. But that wasn’t enough. Inspired by hockey center Mario Lemieux’s 2000 return to the sport after retiring—Lemieux was also part owner of his team, the Pittsburgh Penguins—Jordan jumped back in as well in September 2001, though he was required to sell his stake to do so. He took the lowest possible salary of $1M and donated it all to 9/11 relief.
Jordan could still dunk on 'em, even at 38, 39, and 40 years old. ESPN Throwback,www.youtube.com
It was a controversial move for the decorated, beloved athlete, who was then 38 years old. Some thought it was for love of the game, some thought it was for ego, and some thought it was for both. The Wizards were not so decorated at the time, but suddenly the air of the NBA started to prickle with anxious excitement. “'If he can play, if he stays healthy, Washington is going to be a much more formidable opponent,” New Jersey Nets president Rod Thorn told The New York Times that year. Indeed, Jordan had begun training again prior to announcing his return to the court once more.
While Jordan helped sell out the team’s home arena, the MCI Center (now the Capital One Arena), in D.C. throughout his tenure at the team, the results of his time there were mixed, as was the Wizards’ own record. “Study the king during a game, and so much looks just as it always has. Whenever he goes against a defender he believes he can overpower, he posts up with the same ferocity, hooking his leg over his opponent's, holding him at bay with his elbows, willing himself to win the scrum that leads to superior position,” Sports Illustrated’s Jack McCallum wrote in 2003, upon Jordan’s 40th birthday, while also adding, “Is he still the same player? Of course not.”
The Village Voice’s Mitch Abramson was more harsh: “He looks more like a struggling old prizefighter trying to win back a title than a veteran basketball player ready to roll,” the sports writer said. Of Jordan’s time at the Wizards, Jordan’s own agent David Falk said “I just don't think it was a good dessert to a great meal,” according to Nonstop. Just the same, in his 2002-2003 season with the Wizards, he became ‘the first 40-year-old in NBA history to score over 40 points in a game—something he did twice that year,” as Yahoo! Sports and Basketball Network shared. "He still got up Air Jordan, even in that Wizards jersey," ESPN Throwback said years later.
Jordan had some knowledge as to the extent of his own abilities when he came back in 2001, sharing in a press conference that October that "If I can do it, great. If I can't, great, that's great too,” according to Yahoo! Sports and Basketball Network. “I just want to play the game of basketball that I love. I'm not about the money. I don't care if I'm paid a single dime; I've said that many years."
All the same, Jordan’s legacy of greatness has stayed intact, as he said it would in that same press conference: “You can't take my six championships away, you can't take all the things that I've done as much as you probably want to.” It seems fans can never get enough of him either—he’ll even join NBC Sports as a commentator this coming fall.
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21 products that are gaslighting us into thinking they’re essential when they’re not
Some things in life are actually necessary—clean water, decent healthcare, basic human decency. But then there are the things that feel like they’re gaslighting us. The things we’re told we can’t live without, even though we survived just fine before they existed. Things like "smart" fridges, lawn fertilizer services, and yes—whole body deodorant.
Recently, our sister-site Upworthy asked their Facebook audience the question: What's a product or service that feels like it's gaslighting all of us into thinking it's necessary? More than 8,000 responses poured in. The answers were passionate, funny, and surprisingly unified.
Here are 21 products, services, and systems people called out for pretending to be essential—when they might actually be optional, overpriced, or flat-out invented.
1. Whole body deodorant
"Take a shower," said Shannon H.
“How did we ever manage all those years without it!! 😂😵💫” added Karen R.
Others noted it may help people with medical conditions—but for the average person, it's definitely a marketing creation.
2. Health insurance
It topped the list. Erica L. explained: “My doctor prescribes, the pharmacist issues meds, nurses care for people, surgeons do surgery—Health Insurance stands between health care and patients and says no, exclusively on whether they think it’s financially effective to treat you.”
Important note: Health insurance can provide life-saving access for many—but what people are frustrated by here is the profit-first system, not care itself.
3. The wedding industry
Multiple people slammed the high cost of modern weddings.
JoElla B. put it plainly: “We spend too much time and money planning one day, and not enough thought on how to blend two lives in a mutually beneficial one.”
Others called out expensive dresses, venues, and pressure to perform for social media.
4. Bottled water
Carole D. said: “Water in plastic bottles! Get a cup!”
While bottled water has value in emergencies, it’s often just filtered tap water—sold for profit in plastic.
5. Baby product overload
“Most baby products,” wrote Kelli O. “They really aren’t as needy and complicated as companies want us to think.”
6. Fabric softener
“It’s bad for clothes, bad for the Earth, bad for the wallet, and totally unnecessary,” said Gail H.
Some experts agree—many softeners contain chemicals that can reduce fabric lifespan and irritate skin.
7. Smart appliances
“Adding ‘phone controls’ to every appliance instead of making them last as long as they used to,” wrote Sherry S.
When your fridge needs a software update, something’s gone off the rails.
8. Makeup and anti-aging products
“Anything anti-aging,” said Melissa T., “Please just let me age into the gargoyle I was meant to become.”
Others questioned products designed to “fix” eyelashes, eyebrows, pores, and graying hair.
April S. added, “Products that women are convinced they MUST have in order to be ‘beautiful’ and therefore ‘loved.’”
9. Cosmetic surgery
Ron P. called out the industry as a whole. And while body autonomy matters, many commenters questioned whether insecurities are being commodified and sold back to us.
10. Ticketmaster and “convenience fees”
“Let’s go back to waiting in line at a record store,” wrote Nicole C.
Zaida B. added: “Convenience fee for online purchases—then charging $10 more at the actual event.”
11. Engagement rings
James P. didn’t mince words: “Engagement rings.”
The diamond industry has long been criticized for manufactured scarcity and marketing-fueled necessity.
12. Lawn chemicals and services
“Plant native grasses and you don’t have the pests or need for constant watering,” wrote Jamie B.
Environmental groups have raised similar concerns over runoff and unnecessary pesticide use.
13. AI and generative tech
“This stuff squeezes the lifeblood and individuality out of the human experience,” said Teresa L.
Saskia D. and others echoed skepticism about its necessity, even as many of us are being pushed to use it.
14. Funeral services
Amy W. shared: “My parents both have already paid to have themselves cremated and are very adamant that they do not want anything big done for them. In their words, ‘I won’t care, I’m dead.’”
Of course, some families find comfort in tradition—but the cost and pressure can feel overwhelming and predatory.
15. Rinse and repeat
Amy D. nailed it: “It’s just to sell more. Not even sure you need it at all.”
16. Credit Card Surcharges
Shawn S. took aim at the extra fees popping up at checkout: “That is the cost of doing business and shouldn’t be the burden of the purchaser.”
Many questioned why customers are increasingly being asked to pay extra simply for the convenience of using a card.
17. Constant phone upgrades
“Apple are notorious for releasing the same shit every year,” said Steph S.
Diana H. added, “Needing to upgrade our phones so frequently.”
Built-in obsolescence and marketing cycles drive most of the demand.
18. Vitamins and supplements
“If I took every supplement they say I NEED I wouldn’t need food. Nor could I afford it,” said Tausha L.
19. Fake pockets on women’s pants
Jessica W. said, “I have to buy men’s pants for work because women’s pants would just get torn up too fast!”
Form over function, and then they charge more for it.
20. Disposable everything
“The ‘convenience’ of disposable everything,” said Rick R.
It’s killing the planet—and draining wallets.
21. Tipping
“I’m sick of supplementing for corporations that refuse to pay a living wage,” wrote Susan V.
Tipping culture has evolved into something far removed from its original intent, and for many, it now feels like a burden shifted onto the customer.
The bigger picture
People aren’t saying all these things should vanish tomorrow. But when we start seeing convenience sold as necessity, and insecurity turned into billion-dollar markets, it's worth asking: who benefits from all of this?
And more importantly—who pays?
This article originally appeared earlier this year.