?Not Even the President Was More Important Than Family?: Michael Jordan, Who Skipped the White House Trip to Gamble and Play Golf, Witnessed the Polarizing Aftermath

NBA legend Michael Jordan was the most popular man on the planet during his playing years. However, his otherwise flawless resume had some patches of rough spots. One among them was gambling. MJ wanted to win on and off the court. This competitiveness extended to his gambling practices as well, which landed him in hot water now and then. One such incident happened in 1991 after he won his first-ever NBA title with the Chicago Bulls.

Jordan took the league by storm ever since he joined the Bulls. However, team success was hard to come by and he failed to win a ring for years. Finally, things came together as MJ clinched his first championship by beating the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1991 Finals. After winning the title, the Bulls’ players went back to their personal lives. So it was hard for the management to arrange the customary White House trip.

Michael Jordan declined to visit the White House

The Bulls management asked the players to report a few days before the training camp started to visit the White House and meet the President of the United States. The President at the time was George H. W. Bush. However, Michael Jordan declined. Sam Smith in his book ‘The Jordan Rules’ covered the whole ordeal. Smith wrote, “Jordan declined, saying he had a family obligation and not even the president was more important than your family.”

But the Chicago Bulls superstar reportedly skipped the White House visit to go on a gambling weekend with “some shady characters”, as per Smith.

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Eventually, the details about MJ’s gambling trip came out and it became a media issue. The Bulls legend addressed the issue in a press conference as training camp began.

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As per reports, the six-time NBA champion went on a gambling trip with James ?Slim? Bouler, a notorious golf hustler. When Bouler was arrested on drug and money laundering charges, the feds found a $57,000 check addressed to him from Jordan, which was to repay a gambling debt. The matter soon snowballed into a media spectacle and Jordan even ended up testifying in court for Bouler.

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The Last Dance documentary series revealed some interesting details about Jordan’s betting and gambling practices. However, MJ maintained that he never had a gambling problem and he is not addicted to it.

The 2020 Netflix show had an interesting footage of Jordan betting with his security guard. It was a simple game of coin toss. Whoever tosses the coin closest to the wall, wins. Interestingly, the five-time MVP lost the game which resulted in an iconic shrug by the guard.