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Michael Jordan is regarded as one of the best NBA players in the history of the sport, but some had worries about what he did outside of playing. It was reported that many believed that he was a heavy gambler. And although that hasn't necessarily been confirmed by Jordan too much, there have been many claims that say he was.
Whether it's former players mentioning this, or NBA executives and general managers saying this, Jordan has been accused of being a big-time gambler multiple times.
The Washington Post reported about this in 1993, interviewing people about how Jordan was going through intense gambling scrutiny:
"I gambled and played golf with Michael for six summers but the NBA hasn't even called me," said James Bouler, who was convicted in 1986 of selling cocaine and who this spring began serving a nine-year federal prison sentence for money laundering and gun-related violations. "What kind of an investigation is that?"
Michael Jordan gambling habits
It's tough to say how true these accusations of Michel Jordan's gambling are. While it could be possible because of all the type of money he had, it wouldn't be surprising to see people lying about this as well. Whenever somebody mentions Jordan's name, they're typically going to be brought into the spotlight.
The NBA had responses about what Michael Jordan was doing:
"It's a difficult issue: to draw the distinction between whether a player is doing something that's maybe not in his best interests," said NBA deputy commissioner Russell Granik, who has participated in the Jordan inquiries, "and whether the player has either violated a league rule or done something that threatens the integrity of our business.
"But we don't feel we're in a position to interfere in every player's private life to (require him) to live up to certain standards that somebody else might set."
An NBA general manager said that the NBA wouldn't allow this to be a big issue because of who Jordan was:
"The league is stuck between a rock and a hard place," he said. "I sense that Michael has gotten preferential treatment because the league needs Michael to participate in many activities that promote the NBA. So, they can't afford to get him angry. I wonder if another player had this problem if there wouldn't be a more ardent pursuit of the facts."
Considering that Michael Jordan is perhaps the greatest player in NBA history and ran the association with his play for as many years as he did, it would certainly make sense why the NBA would try to hide this if it was true. They wouldn't want the best player in the history of the game to have these types of accusations against him because it would look bad for the league.
While not all of this is going to be confirmed anytime soon, it's certainly interesting to think about and has been a long discussion around the NBA.
