Jordan Gambling Rumors Put to Bed

For years, whispers have dogged Michael Jordan, perpetuating talk that his abrupt retirement from the Chicago Bulls in 1993 to go play baseball was in actuality a secret suspension levied by Commissioner David Stern imposed for uncontrollable gambling behavior. But now, an intense investigation by a famed Hollywood director reveals there is no substantiation to the rumors.

The sudden decision by the reigning greatest basketball player in the world to abandon his team after three straight titles so as to pursue professional baseball seemed an unlikely story to many. Considering tales of Jordan’s ultra-competitive nature putting him in position to lose fortunes at blackjack and golf were rampant, grassroots word quickly became that Jordan was being forced out by Stern, with a cover story designed to protect both Jordan and the NBA.

Ron Shelton, director of such iconic movies as “Bull Durham” and “White Men Can’t Jump,” decided to feature Jordan’s sabbatical from basketball in his contribution to the ESPN series of short sports documentaries, “30 on 30.” During filming of “Jordan Rides the Bus,” Shelton says he looked into any evidence he could find of a gambling punishment levied on Jordan, but there simply is nothing to back up the talk.

“I probably, like most people in America, thought he left the NBA for a year because of gambling,” Shelton told ESPN.com. “After researching the project, I was utterly convinced that was nonsense.”

Both Stern and Jordan had laughed off the thought that such a backroom deal had been brokered. Still many had credited Stern with maneuvering several other hidden power plays, including the manipulation of the draft to send Patrick Ewing to New York and the selection of certain officials to render game results in the playoffs favorable to television ratings.

But Shelton reports that Jordan’s version, that he left basketball after the life-altering tragedy of his father’s murder, plays much closer to reality than any suspect gambling certainly of any sports betting on basketball.

“Everybody that I talked to said they spent hundreds of hours looking for smoking guns and there is not even a leak; it’s just circumstantial,” concludes Shelton.