The Shady Side Of Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan is known as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, and he reigned supreme during his 15 years with the NBA. The majority of his career was spent on the Chicago Bulls, with whom he won six finals. Soon, Jordan became a bigger-than-life figure and made big bank with multiple endorsements, but the pressures of being an idol were not easy. "I have gotten mad and went off on people but I think my job as a role model is to keep that under my roof. If I make a mistake, it can only hurt the kids who are looking up at me as a role model," he said back in 1988, per NBC.

Jordan tried to keep up a squeaky-clean image throughout the years — fans may remember when he starred in the kid-friendly 1996 movie "Space Jam" with Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes. However, underneath his esteemed image is a side that has been so shady that a ref should have called "foul" on the hoops player's personal life a few times over.

They say you should never meet your heroes, and Chamillionaire would likely agree. As he tells it, Michael Jordan once shot him down so hard that the basketball star lost a fan. In 2009, the rapper recounted meeting Jordan after shelling out $7,000 on his jersey for a charity auction, per The Boombox. During a party afterward, Chamillionaire spotted Jordan and politely asked to take a picture with him. According to the "Ridin'" singer, the response he got was, "I ain't taking pictures with no n****." After telling the former Chicago Bulls player how much he spent at the auction, Jordan shot back with, "You know what, I'll tell you what, you pay $15,000 right now for a jersey from me and I'll take a picture with you." Fellow basketball player Paul Pierce told Jordan who he was talking to and the latter hurled more expletives at him.

Perhaps it was because Jordan is supposedly not a hip-hop fan, according to rapper N.O.R.E. "Jordan is a hater of hip-hop. He only likes H.O.V.A. That's it, that's it. That's where it stops," N.O.R.E. stated, per Radiodotcom. He recalled being at a Def Jam party and someone telling Jordan that Red Man and Method Man were there. The "Superthug" rapper claimed the b-ball star stated, "F*** rap." N.O.R.E. added, "That s**t hurt me, man."

Marcus Jordan's relationship with Larsa Pippen is a bit complicated, to say the least. Marcus's father Michael Jordan and Larsa's ex-husband Scottie Pippen were once teammates, but are now embroiled in a feud. After the 2020 documentary miniseries "The Last Dance" told the story of the Chicago Bulls in the '90s, Pippen wrote in his memoir "Unguarded" that he felt like the show put a spotlight on his former friend while the other members of the team took second stage. "Michael deserved a large portion of the blame. The producers had granted him editorial control of the final product. The doc couldn't have been released otherwise. He was the leading man and the director," Pippen wrote (via Us Weekly).

After Marcus and Larsa went public with their relationship, TMZ Sports caught Michael leaving a restaurant. When asked if he approved of the two, he was heard firmly saying, "No!" Marcus and Larsa addressed the public diss on their podcast "Separation Anxiety." Although Michael texted his son after the incident to clear the air, Larsa stated, "I kind of felt like it went everywhere and I was kind of like, embarrassed." 

Marcus confirmed that his father felt some way about him being with Larsa because of Pippen, and the "Real Housewives of Miami" star agreed. However, she later stated, "Oh my gosh, I was like, traumatized."

Competitive sports can get players riled up, but Michael Jordan took things a bit too far with his Chicago Bulls teammate (and future head coach of the Golden State Warriors) Steve Kerr. In the docu-series "The Last Dance" (via ESPN Throwback), Jordan recalled coach Phil Jackson having Kerr guard him during practice. Kerr stated, "[Jordan's] talking all kinds of trash and I'm pissed because you know, we're getting our ass kicked." Jackson tried to calm Jordan down, which only fueled his anger until he went off on Kerr. Jordan told the camera, "He hauls off and hits me in the chest and I just haul off and hit him right in the f***ing eye. And Phil just throws me out of practice."

Kerr later spoke about the 1995 scuffle with Vice. "He tested every guy. You may not have known it at the time, but he was testing you and you had to stand up to him. He was talking all kinds of trash that day," he shared. 

Eventually, Kerr got tired of Jordan's attitude and the two started fouling each other on the court until things got even more intense. "I had no chance. It was just mayhem. We were screaming at each other ... Apparently, I got punched. I don't even remember getting hit," he stated. Kerr ended up with a black eye and Jordan later called with an apology. "And it was weird," Kerr added.

When Michael Jordan walked to the stage teary-eyed during his 2009 Basketball Hall of Fame induction, many thought he'd give a powerful speech thanking those who helped him become one of the GOATs of the NBA. Instead, he made fun of his brothers for being short and told the audience how much they used to fight (via OfficialHoophall on YouTube). He then recalled how Leroy Smith beat him out of getting picked for their high school basketball team and called out the coach. "When he made the team and I didn't, I [wanted] to prove not just to Leroy Smith, not just to myself, but to the coach who actually picked Leroy over me. I [wanted] to make sure you understood you made a mistake, dude," he cracked. After thanking all his family members for being there, Jordan hinted that he shelled out a lot of money for them because the Hall of Fame organization raised the ticket prices from $200 to $1,000.

The former Bulls' general manager Jerry Krause later stated in the biography "Michael Jordan: The Life" (via The Sports Rush), "He's one of the smartest basketball players I ever worked with, but that Hall of Fame thing, that speech, helped me make people realize how stupid he is. I had umpteen people come up to me after that speech and say, 'I didn't realize Michael was such an a**hole.'"

While Michael Jordan was at the height of his basketball career, he married his first wife Juanita Vanoy. However, 12 years later, she filed for divorce after having him followed by a private investigator for four years, per The New York Post. The P.I. surveilled Jordan around Chicago and Florida, catching him in dalliances with six different women.

Later that year, it was revealed that Jordan sued a woman named Karla Knafel for allegedly trying to extort him out of $5 million to keep her from talking about their relationship 10 years prior, CNN reported. In documents related to the suit, Jordan admitted to the affair and paid her a quarter of a million dollars to keep quiet, but she then attempted to pry more money out of him. 

By the time of the suit, Vanoy had withdrawn the divorce petition and was still together with her husband. A month later, Knafel, who claimed her daughter was Jordan's, countersued, per ESPN. The suit proclaimed, "It was Jordan who initially offered to pay her $5 million in the spring of 1991 for her agreement not to file a public paternity proceeding and for keeping their sexual relationship publicly confidential." As reported by Fox News, a judge ultimately dismissed Knafel's suit, stating that Jordan didn't owe her any money since her child was not his.

It's been known that Michael Jordan loves to gamble — apparently, even at the airport. According to ESPN, back in the day while traveling with his team, number 23 would bet his teammates on whose luggage would come out on the conveyor belt first. They all took the $100 gamble, seeing as the chances of Jordan winning were slim, but lo and behold, his suitcases were the first to come out. However, he reportedly slipped a baggage handler some money so that he would win the bet.

Pippen defended Jordan during an appearance on "The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz." He claimed that his teammate had a striking set of luggage with a "jump man" logo on it and stated, "I'm sure at the airport, that was the first bag that they grabbed so he had an advantage but I don't think it was something that he intentionally did ... It was a knowing thing that he knew that people was going to jump on his bag." He went on to add, "But, I will say that he cheated on a few of his bets."

As reported by ESPN (via CBS), Jordan did in fact cheat on bets. When the animated bull races appeared on the Jumbotron during home games, Jordan would secretly find out from the staff which bull would win, and he would bet Pippen money. Naturally, Pippen lost over and over again — perhaps Jordan's shady dealings were the real start of their bitter feud.