It was a cool autumn morning in downtown Henderson, North Carolina, when Big Michael found himself sitting in a crowded hospital waiting room. A 42-year-old Black man, known for his calm demeanor and towering presence, Michael had never been fond of hospitals. There was something about the sterile smell of antiseptic and the constant beeping of machines that made his stomach churn. But today was different. He wasn’t here for himself. He was here for Jada, his girlfriend, who had been feeling unwell for a few weeks.
Jada was a kind-hearted woman who always smiled, even when life wasn’t easy. She had been dealing with some health issues for a while, and today they were finally going to get answers. As they waited, Michael could sense the anxiety in Jada. She fidgeted with the hem of her jacket and glanced nervously at the clock, which read 9:50 a.m. They had an appointment with Dr. Emma Fitzgerald, a specialist in internal medicine.
Michael squeezed Jada’s hand gently, offering a reassuring smile. “We’ll get through this, babe. Everything will be okay.” Jada smiled weakly back, but the worry in her eyes was still evident.
After what felt like an eternity, the receptionist finally called their names.
“Michael Jordan and Jada Williams.”
They stood up and made their way to the examination room, where a nurse greeted them with a polite nod. “Dr. Fitzgerald will be with you shortly,” she said as she left the room. Big Michael sat down, pulling out his phone to distract himself. He wasn’t the type to get worked up over things, but the longer they sat there, the more uncomfortable he felt. His intuition told him something wasn’t quite right. Maybe it was the way the staff had looked at them when they walked in, as if they didn’t quite belong, or maybe it was just his mind running wild. Either way, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
It wasn’t long before the door opened, and Dr. Emma Fitzgerald stepped inside. She was a short, overweight woman with thin bleach-blonde hair that looked like it hadn’t seen a brush in days. Her pale skin contrasted sharply against her dark blue scrubs, and her large, round face showed no hint of a smile.
“Good morning,” Dr. Fitzgerald said, her voice cold and businesslike. “I’m Dr. Fitzgerald. What seems to be the problem today?”
Big Michael stood up and extended his hand. “Good morning, Doc. My girlfriend Jada has been feeling unwell lately. She’s been having stomach issues and fatigue, and we were hoping you could help figure out what’s going on.”
Dr. Fitzgerald barely acknowledged his outstretched hand, her eyes flicking between Big Michael and Jada before she looked at her clipboard. “I see,” she muttered. “And how long has she been feeling this way?”
Jada spoke up, her voice shaky. “About three weeks now, Doctor. I’ve had trouble eating and I’ve been really tired all the time. I thought maybe it was just stress, but it’s been getting worse.”
Dr. Fitzgerald glanced at Jada as if she were a puzzle to be solved, then quickly turned her attention to Big Michael. “You,” she said bluntly, her eyes hardening, “are you sure you’re the right person to be here with her? You don’t exactly look like someone who could offer much help. Maybe you should wait outside.”
Big Michael was taken aback by the harshness of her tone. It wasn’t the first time he’d experienced discrimination, but this was different. The casual, dismissive way she spoke to him hit him like a slap in the face. He opened his mouth to respond, but Jada put a hand on his arm, shaking her head. She was already shaking with embarrassment, her face flushed.
“I’ll wait outside,” Big Michael said, his voice calm but firm, trying to keep his temper in check. He gave Jada one last reassuring look before stepping out into the hallway. The noise from the waiting room seemed distant, almost muffled as he leaned against the cold wall, crossing his arms, trying to keep his mind steady. The last thing he wanted was to get worked up over something as trivial as a doctor’s attitude, but the way Dr. Fitzgerald had treated him left a bitter taste in his mouth.
He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to his best friend, Marcus.
This doctor’s vibe is off. I’m just trying to stay cool for Jada.
The reply came instantly.
You know I got your back, man. Stay calm. We’ll talk about it later.
Big Michael leaned his head back, staring up at the ceiling. It wasn’t just the way Dr. Fitzgerald had dismissed him—it was the fact that Jada was already feeling vulnerable. She had been through so much in the past year, and now this. The thought of her feeling embarrassed in front of a doctor who didn’t even try to understand her made his blood boil.
A few minutes later, the door to the examination room opened, and Jada stepped out, her eyes downcast. She looked exhausted, defeated even. Big Michael stood up immediately, his heart sinking at the sight of her.
“Jada,” he asked softly, walking toward her.
Her lips trembled as she met his gaze. “She… she said there’s nothing wrong with me. That it’s all in my head.” Jada’s voice shook. “She wouldn’t even listen to me, Michael.”
Big Michael’s jaw tightened, anger rising inside him. “What do you mean, she didn’t do any tests?”
Jada shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. “No. She barely even looked at me. She just asked me a few questions, and then she said I was being dramatic. She told me to relax and not worry about it.”
The pain in Jada’s voice sent a wave of fury through Big Michael. This wasn’t just about the slap; it was about how Dr. Fitzgerald had dismissed her symptoms, how she had treated her like she wasn’t worth her time.
Big Michael clenched his fists, his blood boiling. “This isn’t over. We’re not leaving until we get answers. Let’s go speak to her again.”
Jada hesitated, pulling away slightly. “I don’t know, Michael. I’m fine. Maybe she’s right. Maybe I’m just overreacting.”
“No,” Big Michael said firmly. “You’re not overreacting. And if she can’t see that, then we’ll find someone who does. You deserve to be heard. You deserve to be treated with respect.”
Jada hesitated, then nodded. She knew Big Michael would never let anything slide when it came to protecting her, and right now, she needed that.
Together, they walked back to the receptionist’s desk, where a young woman was typing into the computer. Big Michael cleared his throat, making the receptionist look up.
“We’d like to speak with Dr. Fitzgerald again,” he said, his voice calm but firm.
The receptionist hesitated for a moment before picking up the phone. “Let me check if she’s available,” she said, dialing a number.
A few minutes later, Dr. Fitzgerald appeared in the hallway, her expression stern as she spotted Big Michael and Jada standing there.
“What is it now?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
Big Michael didn’t waste any time. “We need to talk,” he said, his voice steady but wavering. “You didn’t listen to Jada earlier. You dismissed her concerns and treated her like she was crazy. We’re not leaving until we get a proper evaluation.”
Dr. Fitzgerald’s eyes narrowed, her lips curling into a tight frown. “I already told you there’s nothing wrong with her. You’re wasting both of our time.”
Big Michael took a deep breath, his fists clenching at his sides. He had been patient, but this was too far. “I don’t care what you said before. You’ve got a responsibility as a doctor to listen to your patients. You don’t get to decide what’s wrong with someone just by looking at them or assuming things based on how they look.”
Dr. Fitzgerald scoffed. “You think I’m going to listen to you just because you’re some… some big guy? Doesn’t mean you know anything about medicine. I’ve been practicing for years. Maybe you should just leave and let me do my job.”
That was the final straw.
Big Michael’s voice dropped to a dangerous calm. “You know what? I’m not going anywhere. But you will. I’m filing a complaint. If you don’t take Jada seriously, I’ll make sure this goes further. We’ll have a lawyer involved. You can’t treat people like this and get away with it.”
Dr. Fitzgerald stood there, stunned by the confrontation. Big Michael wasn’t backing down. Jada looked at him, her eyes widening as she realized the gravity of the situation.
“Michael, we don’t have to go that far. We can just leave,” she said quietly.
“No,” Big Michael said firmly. “We’re going to stand up for you, Jada, and for anyone else who’s been treated this way. It’s not right.”
Jada hesitated, then nodded. She knew he was right. Together, they were going to make sure that Dr. Fitzgerald’s actions didn’t go unnoticed. They walked out of the hospital, their resolve stronger than ever.
The battle was just beginning, but Big Michael and Jada knew that with each step, they were making a difference—not just for themselves, but for everyone who had ever been mistreated in a medical setting.
‘Basically, I was against all white people:’ Hoops superstar Michael Jordan admitted he turned racist when a girl at school called him a ‘n****r,’ new book reveals
He was the billion dollar king of the court and Michael Jordan had it all – the talent, the toys and the women who threw themselves at his feet. But he was haunted by demons that stalked him most of his life.
Now 50, the basketball genius never stopped seeking the approval of a dismissive father, the same father who was accused of sexually assaulting his sister and later was violently murdered. The six-time NBA champ couldn’t overcome the compulsion of his golf and gambling addictions.
And he felt intense racial anger as a teenager when he learned how racial hatred had impacted his own family, according to a new book: Michael Jordan: The Life, by Roland Lazenby and published by Little, Brown and Company.
He’s got game: Chicago Bulls player Michael Jordan was the undisputed king of the court. By 1999, with his endorsements and investments, his wealth was estimated at as much as $500 million and he was described as the first billion dollar athlete
‘It was my father’s early treatment of him and Daddy’s declaration of his worthlessness that became the driving force that motivated him’, Michael’s sister Deloris, nicknamed Sis, recalls. ‘Each accomplishment was his battle cry for defeating my father’s negative opinions of him’.
‘You don’t know what the hell you’re doing. Go on in there with the women’, James Jordan once told his son, chasing him from the room.
‘Of the millions of sentences that James uttered to his youngest son, the fourth of five children, ‘this was the one that glowed neon-bright across the decades’. T
The mean words were a challenge to his adolescent masculinity. The backyard battles between him and his older brother, Larry, the favored son, set the pattern for his relentless drive and how he related to teammates throughout his whole career. He would bully them – the way he had been treated.
Born prematurely in Brooklyn, NY on February 17, 1963, Michael’s mother Deloris almost miscarried when she learned that her mother back in N.C had suddenly died.
The large baby she was carrying came suddenly and was delivered on a hospital gurney, struggling to breathe with his lungs filled with mucous. He was also born with a nosebleed, a condition that caused him to have frequent nosebleeds until he was five-years-old.
High roller: In 1990 Michael lost $1.25 million betting on a series of golf games. Now 51, Michael is still a player
Michael was always a godsend to Deloris, who viewed the boy as the happiness God sent her after a heartbreaking time in her life when she lost her mother.
The marriage of Michael’s parents was fraught with violent battles with James allegedly delivering knockout punches at times. The family was never without ‘a lurking element of fear’, writes Lazenby, a basketball journalist who spent almost 30 years covering Jordan’s time in college and then the NBA and beyond.
According to Sis, when Deloris realized her daughter was sexually active, she called her a slut which prompted Sis to declare, ‘If I’m such a slut, why don’t you keep your husband out of my bed’?
James Jordan had been climbing into bed with the little girl for eight years starting when she was a preschooler, Sis claimed.
‘Her father first explained that he was teaching her to kiss like an adult,’ and the abuse escalated over time.
When forced to confront her father, he lunged at her and began choking her saying she misunderstood his affection. Michael was only 12 at the time in 1975 and never knew about the abuse until years later.
First family: Michael married Juanita in 1989, even though his parents didn’t like her. After three kids, the divorced in 1996, when she won a $150 million settlement
While Michael was growing up in Wilmington, NC, the Ku Klux Klan was still dominant and North Carolina had more Klan members than the rest of the South combined. The Klan bought uniforms for ball teams and Bibles for all the schools. White supremacy ruled the South and black athletes were told they were inferior.
As a kid in the late seventies, Michael played Little League baseball before he ever hit basketball courts. He was one of two blacks on the team.
As a kid in the late seventies, Michael played Little League baseball before he ever hit basketball courts. He was one of two blacks on the team. Racial animosity prevailed and youth baseball was still a white game.
When Michael watched the ABC miniseries Roots in 1977, which depicted the inhumanity of the African American experience, he understood for the first time what his ancestors had endured. His eyes were now open to the painful racism his own family had lived through in the cauldron of racial hatred in the South.
When Michael watched the ABC miniseries Roots in 1977, which depicted the inhumanity of the African American experience, he understood for the first time what his ancestors had endured. His eyes were now open to the painful racism his own family had experienced.had lived through years of racial hatred in the South.
Later that same year, when a girl at school called Michael a ‘n****r,’ ‘I threw a soda at her’, he states. ‘I was really rebelling. I considered myself a racist at the time’, said Jordan. ‘Basically, I was against all white people’.
He was suspended for the incident and his mother did not want him to go through life consumed with racial hatred and bitterness.
She made him sit in her car while she worked in the bank so she could watch him. She lectured to him over and over that ‘it would be easy to hate people for the rest of your life… you’ve got to deal with what’s happening now and try to make things better’.
Bully: Michael’s father James demeaned his son and sexually violated his daughter. He was murdered in 1993 and it drove Michael into a tailspin. To this day the baller sits in his office and talks to his father: ‘What do you think of me now Pops?’
In the fall of ’78, at age 15, Michael went out for the varsity football team at Laney High School. He was still too skinny, too short at 5’10”, and had to settle for playing Junior Varsity. This setback was deeply disappointing and ignited an obsession to grow taller.
Attempting to alleviate the boy’s anxiety, his mother told him to put salt in his shoes and pray for a growth spurt. So they prayed together daily, he prayed alone at the end of each day, in the morning and all during the day.
He also hung from a bar to stretch out. By summer, he was six seven and joined the varsity team, the Buccaneers and made friends for the first time — but he couldn’t get a date.
That didn’t last. He would become a player off the court as well as on wherever he traveled.
Michael’s success on the varsity basketball team attracted coaches from the University of North Carolina who were eager to sign the star shooter when he graduated. The team’s away games became an addiction for his parents who traveled to every game but they could hardly afford it.
James wanted Michael contribute to the family expenses so he got him a job as a hotel maintenance man, cleaning pools, sweeping, changing air-conditioning filters – for $3.10 an hour.
Snub: Michael took offense to the star Magic Johnson when he learned that Lakers star had encouraged the team owner Jerry Buss to trade Michael’s pal James Worthy. He publicly snubbed Magic and never forgave him
But it wasn’t to be. A friend of Michael’s had drowned when they were out riding the waves together and the current caught the pal. The boy’s hand locked up on Michael as he was slipping away.
‘I almost had to break his hand. He was gonna take me with him…He died. I don’t do water anymore.. Everybody’s got a phobia for something. I do not mess with water. I said, never again. I may be a wino first, but I will not have a nine-to-five job’.
Nike had been approached by a man named Sonny Vaccaro about making shoes for basketball teams and paying coaches to have their players wear Nikes. When Vaccaro first saw Jordan, he was the best player he had ever seen and he suggested Nike create a whole product line around Michael – Air Jordan.
At 21, Michael didn’t care about the shoe business and wanted to wear Adidas. Vaccaro said they’d throw a car into the deal and pay him $2.5 million over five years with a 25 percent royalty on each shoe sold. It was unprecedented, given Jordan was headed for the Bulls, a team poorly managed and under the shadow of its hard partying culture of the ‘70s.
He hadn’t played a minute of pro ball when he was offered this pot of gold.
Jordan viewed the red and black of the new shoe as ‘the devil’s color’ and had to be convinced by his mother to accept the deal. Adidas couldn’t come close.
Golden: Michael sits with wife Juanita and his dad James after the Bulls defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1991 NBA Finals. Jordan is a six time champ
The first Air Jordan was released in 1985 and drew an immediate ban from the NBA, that insisted players wear white shoes. Any infraction would cost the player $5,000 each time he wore the colored shoes.
Nike said, ‘F*** ‘em,’ Vaccaro recalled. Nike would pay the fine. It was a smart bet. Jordan’s play, the ban and marketing sent sales through the roof earning Nike $150 million in Air Jordan sales over the first three years.
At The All Star Weekend of 1985, draped in gold necklaces, the rookie Jordan was arrogant and standoffish and took offense at star players, Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas. When Jordan learned that Lakers star Magic Johnson had encouraged the team owner Jerry Buss to trade his old friend James Worthy, he publicly snubbed Magic and never forgave him.
Michael believed that games’ established stars were against him when he played only 22 minutes and took just nine of the team’s 120 shots. It was a freeze out and he never forgot that day. ‘That was the first public snubbing of Michael Jordan’. He wanted to crawl into a hole.
In December 1985 of his rookie year, he met Juanita Vanoy, a beautiful model who had grown up on the south side of Chicago and had been a former flame of one of his friends.
She was classy, intelligent and Jordan was immediately attracted to her but his parents weren’t, and appeared to be jealous of her stealing Michael’s attentions.
Two years later, New Year’s Eve, 1987, Michael proposed to Juanita and before tying the know, they bought a house in Chicago and began planning a life together. Their first child would be a year old before he married Juanita in 1989 in a quickie wedding in Las Vegas’s Little White Wedding Chapel between golfing and gambling outings.
Marriage didn’t mean that Michael would spend more time at home. He continued being secretive about his weekends of gambling, golf and card games.
In the summer of 1990, he began playing high stakes golf matches with Richard Esquinas, part owner of the San Diego Sports Arena. Esquinas lost $98,000 to Jordan in one day and wanted a double-or-nothing bet to try and win it back.
Model wife: In 2011, he proposed to Yvette Prieto, a Cuban-American model. They married in April 2013 and have twin daughters
Jordan accepted the bet and had a ten-day golfing spree where Jordan lost the $98,000 as well as an additional $626,000. Now HE wanted double or nothing. Esquinas said, ‘If I beat you, that’s it. No More of this double or nothing’. Jordan lost bringing his total debt to $1.252 million.
Esquinas had a hard time collecting and later revealed Jordan told him, ‘Rich, I just might as well shoot you as to give you a check for $1.2 mil’.
More trouble loomed. In December 1991 James Slim Bouler, a convicted cocaine dealer, turned up with a $57,000 check Jordan had written to him. Both claimed the money was a loan but Jordan would be served with a subpoena to testify against the dealer.
The following February, bail bondsman, Eddie Dow, was murdered during a robbery at his home. Among the stolen monies were three checks totaling $108,000 written by Jordan. They were for gambling debts owed by Jordan to another man. He had lost the money at golfing and gambling parties he had hosted at his Hilton Head Island residence.
Other rumours plagued Michael. One, claims Lazenby, was that he had ‘wagered large sums with teammates over which Hollywood starlets he would bed during the team’s West Coast road swings’. Says the author. ‘He was likewise rumored to have collected on at least one such bet,’ but the girl remain unnamed.
Jordan was spending most of his time off the court playing golf, marathon poker games and hanging out with his entourage and other women.
In the summer of 1993 James Jordan got into his Lexus and headed across the state to bury an old friend who had passed away.
Days later, the car was found off a main road in North Carolina, smashed and stripped. His badly decomposed body was found in South Carolina. He had died of a single .38-caliber gunshot wound to the chest. The coroner collected the jawbones and hands from the unidentified corpse and order a cremation of the remains.
No. 23: Roland Lazenby’s biography of Michael Jordan lays bare the secret – and not-so-secret – demons of the incredible hoopster
When the teenage murderers learned they had killed Michael Jordan’s father, they had tried to cover their tracks. They kept the Lexus three days, took videos of themselves boasting about the event and then abandoned the car about 60 miles from where they’d left the body.
After that Michael lost his motivation to play.
He had been lost since his father’s murder in August, and each succeeding account of the details served to intensify his grief, says the author. It changed and hardened him. When he played ball now, he used anger and mental intimidation.
He’d say to other players, ‘Shoot it, you f******g midget’ or ‘you’re not black enough’. He called one player a ‘f****t’. ‘When you flipped that competitive switch with him, he’d rip your heart out,’ Jim Stack stated who worked for the Bulls.
In 1995-96, Jordan was making $40 million off the court in his Nike deal, endorsements of Gatorade, French fries at McDonalds, Hanes Briefs, golf balls, books, trading cards. By 1999, with his endorsements and investments, his wealth was estimated at as much as $500 million and he was described as the first billion dollar athlete.
When he talked about retiring and leading a quiet existence as a regular dad, he tried but golf courses seduced him. His customized Golfstream IV named Jump 23 — 23 for his jersey number — was always waiting to take him to virtual orgies of golfing and gambling.
He would be accused of pulling his pal Tiger Woods in his orbit when one of Tiger’s golf reps blamed Jordan and his bacchanalian pursuits for Tiger’s very public downfall.
Jordan made a play for a woman in a Washington, DC nightspot that hit the press and Juanita finally filed for divorce in 2002. They reconciled but the marriage faced irreconcilable differences. It was over in December 2006 but not before the couple had two sons, Jeffrey Michael and Marcus James and a daughter, Jasmine.
The divorce cost Jordan $150 million.
In this same year, 2006, a Cook County judge in Chicago, ruled that Jordan did not owe his former lover Karla Knafel the $5 million dollars she was claiming he had promised her if she kept their relationship a secret. He was not the father of a baby she claimed was his back in 1991.
In 2011, he proposed to Yvette Prieto, a Cuban-American model he met two years earlier and they married in April 2013. They announced they were expecting identical twin girls who were born in February.
Jordan now owns a stake in the Charlotte Bobcats.
Before each game, he sits in his office and talks with his dad. ‘What do you think of me now, Pops’?
