“I Was Really Embarrassed to Tell Anybody”: Michael Jordan Once Confessed “Guilt” on Hiding His Lesser Known Side From Ex Wife Juanita

The news of Michael Jordan and his tendencies to gamble was a topic of immense discussion during his playing days. Jordan’s tendencies were further highlighted after the release of ‘The Last Dance’. Amidst all the attention, MJ always claimed not to be addicted to the vice. There were instances when the league investigated Jordan. However, even the league believed that “it (the gambling issue) never reached epic crisis levels”. With that said, the Bulls legend has confessed to often losing money. In an interview with Connie Chug, the six-time NBA Champion opened up about the guilt that came with gambling.

During the years 1992 and 1993, the media focus was not on Michael Jordan‘s greatness on the court. For the media, the motivation was to uncover Jordan’s shenanigans off the court, gambling specifically. While reports emerged that Jordan owed money to people, the six-time finals MVP wrote off these claims by stating that he had a problem with competition. He had to win or compete when challenged. Following this, he claimed to have only placed bets on himself. Jordan said, “I never bet on games; I only bet on myself”. Despite denying the claims of being a gambling addict, he confessed to having lost money on several occasions.

Michael Jordan on his guilt

In 1993, during the peak of Michael Jordan’s gambling discussion, Jordan spoke to journalist Connie Chug. Connie questioned Jordan about his acts of gambling. Through this segment of the interview, Jordan remained calm, cool, and collected. He opened up about gambling but continued to state that he wasn’t addicted to it.

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Connie asked the five-time MVP if he could ever give up gambling. Jordan was sure he could. He stated that if his gambling affected his family and game on the court, then he would give it up without any hesitation. Following this, he spoke about how he has lost money but has always found a way to pay it back to his wife, Juanita Vanoy. Jordan said, “So whatever check I make, here honey. I’m sorry for the embarrassment, I’m sorry for what I have caused”. 

Connie Chug countered this statement. She claimed that if Jordan is returning the money, then he must feel guilty about his actions. To this, the 14-time All-Star said, “I feel guilty that I did it and I actually didn’t tell her that I lost it”. Jordan added that he didn’t initially tell his wife about losing the money because for him, losing is an embarrassment. He said, “I was really embarrassed to tell anybody”.

Jordan claimed that he didn’t want to hide anything from his wife. Additionally, he didn’t want to leave her blindsided by any backlash coming their way. Hence he had to tell her about losing the money.

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