Michael Jordan was in his prime in the 1990s. He managed to complete a 3-peat twice with the Chicago Bulls in less than a decade. As we all know, the Jordan-Bulls combo struck fear in the hearts of other NBA franchises. To this day, there hasn’t been a player or a franchise to make a similar impact. With that established, Jordan did something at the peak of his career that shocked the entire world.
On October 6, 1993, Jordan announced that he was going to retire from basketball. That decision came right after he won the 1993 NBA title with the Bulls as well. As it raised eyebrows, many started to believe that MJ decided to retire because of former NBA commissioner David Stern.
For those who don’t know, David Stern was the NBA commissioner from 1984 till 2014. When his 30-year tenure ended, Stern was the longest-serving NBA commissioner. In 1993, when Jordan retired, many believed that it was because of Stern and the Association. The reason for these allegations will be quite interesting for NBA fans to find out.
Was Michael Jordan’s first retirement a suspension from NBA Commissioner David Stern?
It is no secret that His Airness has addressed the issue of gambling in the past. Once, he revealed that he didn’t have a gambling problem, but rather a “Competition problem”. This might not be as surprising, especially considering what he achieved in the league. In 1992, Jordan was called up to testify when James Bouler, who was under investigation for money laundering, was found with a check that the Bulls star had signed.
The check was for $57,000. MJ caved in under oath and admitted that it was a payment to Bouler for the losses he faced when gambling. He claimed that it was a business loan at first. This raised plenty of eyebrows, as the biggest basketball icon admitted to gambling in front of the whole country.
In 1993, the NBA and David Stern decided to investigate Jordan’s stance on gambling and to find out if broke the rule book in the league. This came after Richard Equinas, a businessman, claimed that he won more than $900,000 from Jordan when they bet on golf. The questions about whether Jordan retired because of the NBA’s investigation when he retired out of nowhere in 1993.
“If the urge comes back, if the Bulls will have me, IF DAVID STERN LETS ME BACK IN THE LEAGUE, I may come back.”
26 years ago today, Michael Jordan announced his 1st retirement. https://t.co/3EYeNJM2wW pic.twitter.com/08deG4Ddy3
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) October 6, 2019
At the same time, no developments were being reported on The Association’s developments in the investigations as well. This was what left the NBA world confused. To add on to this, MJ even said during his press conference, “Five years down the road, if the urge comes back, if the Bulls will have me, if David Stern lets me back in the league, I may come back.” That seemed in the coffin for NBA fans.
When the Black Cat retired, he claimed that he lost the desire to play, hence the decision to “move away from the sport of basketball.” Together with that, the death of his father James R. Jordan, Sr, was a factor determinant as well. After he lost his father, MJ decided to have a go at a professional baseball career with the Chicago White Sox.
“The urban legend that I sent [MJ] away because he was gambling…ridiculous. No basis in fact.”
David Stern pic.twitter.com/Ld9UkZTqwv— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 11, 2020
Just 17 months after retiring, Jordan told the world, “I’m back”. Although it was something that the NBA world was waiting for, the fact that he claimed in 1993 that he would only be back if Stern was to agree to it. When he came back, fans believed it almost seemed like Stern had a role to play in Jordan’s retirement. In the past, he has addressed these rumors and put them to bed as well.
Stern mentioned that the rumors weren’t true. This came after the NBA world thought the 17-month period that Jordan was away from the league, was a suspension from the NBA commissioner. After Michael Jordan came back from retirement, he won yet another 3-peat with the Bulls (1996-1998). This just proved that he was on another level, despite playing a whole other sport for more than a year.