The Last Dance: Michael Jordan’s baseball career, LaBradford Smith among 5 things we learned in Episodes 7-8
2. How irresponsible the conspiracy theories were
Michael Jordan’s gambling habits became public knowledge as soon as the stories surfaced, and because they were the first major flaws of a guy who was virtually untouchable, those stories spread like wildfire. Unfortunately, ungrounded conspiracy theories came with them, and the two biggest ones grew during the summer of 1993 in particularly detestable fashion.
The two biggest gambling conspiracy theories revolving around MJ — that his gambling was somehow connected to the murder of his father, James Jordan, and that it had forced a secret suspension from commissioner David Stern — are both unequivocally denied in The Last Dance.
“When his dad was murdered, all the articles and the speculation that came out, it was not journalism’s finest hour,” said Brian McIntyre, former NBA senior VP of PR.
“There isn’t a thimble’s worth of evidence to connect that horrible incident to Michael Jordan’s gambling or any other aspect of Michael Jordan’s behavior,” Bob Costas agreed.
Following a third straight title in June and his father’s body being found in August, Jordan chose to retire. In a jam-packed October press conference, he announced that he was stepping away from basketball. People couldn’t understand why he was retiring in his prime, which only fueled further speculation that his gambling had prompted a secret suspension from the league.
David Stern dismissively denied these allegations, as he has for years.
“The folklore, the urban legend that I sent him away because he was gambling…ridiculous,” he said. “No basis in fact. I could bang on the table and say it’s a calumny, slanderous lie or whatever; it’s just not true. Never was and never will be no matter how many times people ask the question.”
McIntyre was a little more direct: “How can I phrase this delicately? Total bulls**t.”
I covered it here but @lazenby had the best discussion of the conspiracy gambling theory, in that if that were the case, there’s no way he’d have been allowed into NBA ownership. https://t.co/RRERAqGtxg
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) May 11, 2020
Jordan had legitimate reasons to walk away, which he mentioned: His mentor and hero had died, he no longer had motivation or challenges in the NBA, he had just capped off a trying three-peat, he had always wanted to play baseball. But people couldn’t understand it, and in their desire for a juicy story that really explained why, they gave credence to disgusting rumors and irresponsible muckraking with no substance behind it.