Michael Jordan is weeping, and the tears aren't likely to stop flowing anytime soon.

He's crying because the Carolina Panthers lost the Super Bowl.

A Look into my soul right now...but it's all good we will be back! pic.twitter.com/fKbDjGx0on — Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) February 8, 2016

He's crying because Holly Holm defeated Ronda Rousey.

Inevitable Rousey vs. Holm pic.twitter.com/VeMxdHi4Ea — Steve Noah (@Steve_OS) November 15, 2015

He's crying because Wednesday is his 53rd birthday.

Michael Jordan is 53 today! Happy birthday, MJ! https://t.co/zl6vWYHDNL — SB Nation (@SBNation) February 17, 2016

There's a good chance you're familiar with Crying Michael Jordan, the viral meme that has become a sensation online and in social media. The now-famous image was captured when Jordan was introduced as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame on Sept. 11, 2009. That evening, he teared up during a memorably candid and edgy induction speech in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was a rare moment in which Jordan let his guard down and allowed us to see him in a vulnerable light.

Now, he's a Halloween mask.

"It just seems to have an appropriateness for so many different circumstances," said Andrew Selepak, director of the social media graduate program at the University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communications. "That face can be used for a meme for a number of different levels, whether it's sports or non-sports related. But because of the passion people have for sports, I think it has legs like few other memes that have been popular in the past."

To wit, Crying Michael Jordan has the kind of staying power that eluded the poignant but outdated "I can has cheezburger?" cat meme.

Which leads us to a crucial question:

Can you get sued for using the Crying Michael Jordan meme?

Before we answer that query, however, it's important to know how Crying Michael Jordan became a phenomenon:

Associated Press photographer Stephan Savoia, who captured the image of Jordan crying, knew he had something special back in 2009 -- but he had no idea his work would inspire an Internet sensation.

"It was the first time in maybe 40 years I had ever seen an athlete cry," Savoia recently told the Wall Street Journal. "There's a real distinction between honest emotion and what we in the business call 'jubi' or jubilation. ... Michael Jordan crying. That was a real moment."

One of the first widespread uses of the meme came in April 2012, when the Charlotte Bobcats were in the midst of a 23-game losing streak and ultimately compiled the worst single-season winning percentage (7-59, .106) in NBA history.