Penn State Football Signals Return To Campus With Michael Jordan-Esque Statement
In the legendary words of Michael Jordan, we’re back.
Penn State football welcomed 75 student-athletes back to campus Monday morning and officially recognized the occasion by issuing a somewhat-satirical press release reminiscent of Jordan’s (first) return to the NBA.
“The following statement was released today by Penn State Football in response to the phased return of student-athletes to The Pennsylvania State University campus,” the team wrote. “We’re back.”
The Nittany Lions’ statement included a variety of nods to Jordan’s infamous PR stunt, including listing head coach James Franklin as a media contact and replacing the “- 30 -” at the bottom with a classic “- WE ARE -“.
Jordan issued the original statement in March 1995 following a brief 18-month sabbatical from basketball. Facing a league-wide MLB strike and armed with a fax machine, the Hall of Famer published the letter, and the rest was history.
After paying homage to Jordan’s iconic fax, you’ve got to wonder if Penn State football has a few tricks up its sleeve. A few months after his return, Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to yet another three-peat. Could a string of national titles be in the cards for the Nittany Lions? Well, only time will tell.
Clever tweets aside, Penn State will gradually return more and more student-athletes from additional teams to campus in the coming weeks as part of a phased return to normalcy. They’ll be tested and quarantined upon their return. Those cleared will participate in voluntary, small-group workouts while following public health guidelines.
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