A bit of gambling habit is attached to Michael Jordan's name, but on the latest episode of his ESPN documentary "The Last Dance," the story got bigger as speculations also relate Jordan's habit to the murder of his father.
After pulling over on a North Carolina highway to take a nap, James Jordan, 56 at that time was killed in July of 1993 by two teens named Daniel Green and Larry Demery.
According to NY Post, Jordan was devasted by the incident, for he was extremely close to his father, Jordan brought James along with him everywhere he went.
Two months before the incident, Jordan is all over the news after he went to Atlantic City the night before an Eastern Conference Finals game against New York Knicks.
In combination with the release of Richard Esquinas' book "Michael and Me," which alleged that the bulls superstar owed Esquinas more than $1 million from betting on golf matches, the narrative quickly escalates to an issue that Jordan had a gambling problem.
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But despite the speculations, Jordan remained composed with his answers at the time, as he repeatedly stated that he can stop gambling and he has a competition problem, a competitive problem.
The denial of Jordan did not slow down the rumors as the speculation peaked after the death of his father.
Various speculations circulated in the media linking Michael's gambling to the death of his father, even Orlando Sentinel columnist Brian Schmitz at that time wrote an article about the issue and headlined it "Is Michael somehow tied to dad's bizarre death?"
On the other hand, some people did not buy the speculations especially former senior communications advisor to NBA commissioner David Stern, Brian Mclntyre who emphasized that all the articles, the speculation that came out, was not journalism's finest hour.
The Jordan Rules' author Sam Smith also shared his insight about the issue, he emphasized that it was really bad and really unfair.
He also added that imagine your father gets killed and now they are blaming you.
Outraged at the time, Jordan issued a statement that he simply cannot comprehend how others can pour salt in his open wound.
He also added that it was not from the people he loved, the people who knew him and cared for him, it was was from the people who got tired of him being on top.
Investigations during the time came up with one conclusion, that it was nothing more than brutality and greed that led to James' death.
Bob Costas shared that there was not a piece of evidence that can connect the incident to Michael's gambling or any other aspect of the Bulls superstar's behavior.
Not long after the death of his father, Jordan retired from the NBA, a decision he said he had already made before the incident.
But that decision led to even more speculation with some claiming that his retirement was a secret suspension by NBA commissioner at the time David Stern for his gambling problem.
Stern himself ended the rumors as he pointed out that there is no basis in fact and it is just not true.
