Michael Jordan’s ex-teammate reveals ‘real’ reason why NBA legend snubbed White House visit

The usually apolitical superstar expressed a clear opinion of the president

It is traditional in the major American sports for newly crowned champions to be invited to the White House for a reception with the president.

It has recently been confirmed, for example that the Philadelphia Eagles – who beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in Super Bowl LIX in February – will accept Donald Trump invitation to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The Chiefs themselves might also soon make a trip to Washington DC to meet with Trump to make up for not having been able to go to the White House after their Super Bowl success during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019.

When the Chicago Bulls won the NBA championship in 1991, they visited with then-president George HW Bush at the White House. But their superstar player Michael Jordan, who’d just won the first title of his career, did not attend.

Michael Jordan’s brother Larry was tipped to achieve great things in basketball. Image: Getty

At the time, it was reported that the basketball GOAT had instead decided to go on a long-awaited family retreat, while it later came out that the five-time NBA MVP had busied himself with a round of gold while his teammates were exchanging pleasantries with the president.

But in a 2017 interview with The Guardian, one of those teammates lifted the lid on the real reason with “His Airness” swerved the White House reception.

“I’m not going to the White House,” Craig Hodges recalled Jordan saying. “F*ck Bush. I didn’t vote for him.”

Jordan was famously apolitical publicly throughout the height of his fame, and it was later confirmed that he did indeed play golf while his colleagues visited DC, taking in 18 holes with James “Slim” Bouler, a drug dealer who would later be convicted of money laundering.

When the Bulls won the NBA title again the following season, it was Hodges who made headlines after he wore a dashiki and handed Bush a letter outlining poverty and issues facing the country’s minorities.

The 6ft 2ins shooting guard was out of the league shortly thereafter, with many believing he was blackballed for taking a political stance.

“I also found it strange that not a single team called to inquire about him,” Bulls coach Phil Jackson said at the time. “Usually, I get at least one call about a player we’ve decided not to sign.

“Yes, he couldn’t play much defense, but a lot of guys in the league can’t, but not many can shoot from his range, either.”