When former mobster claimed David Stern did not want Michael Jordan around due to rumors that his father’s murder was connected to his gambling
Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan is known to be a chronic gambler. Over the years, Jordan has insisted that he has never been addicted to gambling and just loves the competition involved with it.
However, it has long been rumored that Jordan’s gambling debts led to the murder of his father James R. Jordan Sr. on July 23, 1993.
Likewise, many believe that this rumor was the reason why Jordan suddenly retired from the NBA in 1993 and played minor league baseball with the Birmingham Barons in 1994. According to former American mobster Michael Franzese, this theory has some merit.
During an interview with VladTV in 2019, Franzese spoke about his time working with the NBA to inform players about the dangers of gambling. Franzese recalled what he heard from what he claimed to be a reliable source regarding rumors of Michael Jordan’s gambling addiction being responsible for his father’s murder.
Fanzese said that the NBA, which was led by commissioner David Stern at the time, didn’t want to deal with the negative publicity stemming from the rumor.
“He’s a big gambler. Michael gambles on everything,” Franzese said. “I don’t have firsthand knowledge of this, but being that I was working with the NBA at that time, I was told two things. One, he was told to leave the NBA around the time that his father got murdered because stories were about to come out.
"There was a lot of heat on the fact that because of Michael’s gambling habit, his father paid the price. And the NBA didn’t want the press, so they asked him to leave for a while, and that’s when he went to play baseball. And when things settled down, that’s when he came back. The plan was always, from what I was told, for him to come back.
“Now again, I heard this from a source I believe was pretty knowledgeable, somebody I knew pretty well, inside the NBA. So, for me, it’s secondhand information, but I thought it was reliable. And then putting it all together, knowing that Michael did have this gambling issue, that is very possible that that could happen.”
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Michael Jordan's reason for his first retirement
Michael Jordan said that a lack of motivation was the reason behind his first retirement on Oct. 6, 1993. The Chicago Bulls were coming off three straight NBA titles from 1991 to 1993, so Jordan said that he had nothing left to accomplish.
“When I lose the sense of motivation and the sense of to prove something as a basketball player, it's time for me to move away,” Jordan said at the time.
“It's not because I don't love the game. I always will. I just feel that I have reached the pinnacle of my career.”
However, Jordan also left the door open for a possible return to the league.
"The word retire means you can do anything you want,” Jordan said.
“So, if I desire to come back and play again, maybe that's what I want to do. Maybe that's the challenge I may need someday down the road. I'm not going to close that door. I don't believe in 'Never.'”
Two years later, on March 18, 1995, Jordan announced his return to the NBA through a famous two-word press release.
“I'm back,” Jordan said.
It’s hard to say for sure whether Jordan’s two-year break from basketball was a secret suspension from the NBA. Regardless, MJ overcame the obstacle as he went on to lead the Bulls to three straight titles from 1996 to 1998 upon his return to the league.
Also read: Ex-wife of Michael Jordan used to write $50,000 checks to clear her husband's gambling debts