I Wanna Be Like Mike

Chicago AP is reporting that Michael Jordan and wife of 17 years, Juanita, filed for divorce on Friday. It’s the second time the Jordan’s have gone through the motions. In 2002 Juanita filed for divorce but quickly changed her mind when someone told her she was married to one of the richest athletes in the world. This time, Juanita means business.

Juanita has said any attempts to reconcile their marriage in the future “"would be impractical and not in the best interests of the family."


"That Bitch want's How Much?"

This one is going to cost Mike big bucks. Why you ask? Because she’s put up with his shit for too long. All the gambling and womanizing have most likely compounded exponentially in the five years since their last visit to the lawyers. Let’s break it down…

Gambling. It’s known that Mike has a little problem. His reputation in Vegas and Atlantic City is well known and the stories of his long runs at many Blackjack tables are plentiful. Many of such runs have reportedly taken place the evening before a game. Supposedly Jordan favored A.C. when playing in New York or New Jersey and Vegas when playing Utah or L.A.

It’s also been rumored he’s a big money guy on the golf course. Jordan lost $1.3M in ten days in 1991, all chronicled in Michael & Me: Our Gambling Addiction . . . My Cry for Help! by Richard Esquinas. The book wasn’t taken seriously initially, but Esquinas produced correspondence and canceled checks.

And there’s also the tale of $57,000. After a reported week of golf and gabling at his Hilton Head home, Jordan was down $57,000 to a shady character named James Bouler and $108,000 to a friend, Eddie Dow. Bouler had a few run-ins with the law, including possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and two probation violations, both after he was arrested carrying semi-automatic weapons.

When Jordan cut the check to pay his debt, Bouler deposited the money in an account for a high tech golf driving range. The feds, suspecting this cash was drug money, seized the funds. In the end, it was Jordan who cleared his friend’s name. Jordan publicly acknowledged giving Bouler the $57K, but said it was a loan to start the driving range. MJ’s story prompted a US District Court Judge to rule in favor of Mr. Bouler, finding the IRS seized the money in violation of Bouler’s rights.

Then, less than six months later, Eddie Dow was robbed of $20,000 and killed outside his home. Among Dow’s belongings? Three checks, two from Jordan’s personal account and one cashier’s check. The total? $108,000.

Conspiracy theorists speculate that his 1993 retirement was actually an agreement between Jordan and the NBA, letting Mike walk away while increased scrutiny for his gambling habit peaked and seek professional help for his growing habit. .

In the press conference Jordan said he had nothing left to prove and looked forward to spending time with this wife and children. (A short time later he would be boarding a bus with the Birmingham Barons, a minor league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, which, by chance, was owned by Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf…)

Two days after the press conference, NBA Commissioner David Stern announced the five month long investigation into Jordan’s alleged gambling had ended without finding any incriminating evidence

Regardless of the reasoning, Jordan’s retirement in ’93 is and will always be one of the strangest situations surrounding a Sports Super Star.


Woman. While it’s always been rumored that Jordan kept girlfriends in virtually every NBA city (a practice many players have been accused of) and stories of ref’s hooking MJ up with dolly’s after games have been shared with the press, there is one name that almost haunted Jordan for life.

Karla Knafel, a former lover, filed a $5M lawsuit against MJ, insisting Jordan promised her the money for keeping quiet and not filing a paternity suit after she became pregnant in 1991. However, a DNA test proved Mike wasn’t the Baby-Daddy and the suit was dropped.

Given what the public knows, which is most likely a small piece of the whole Michael Jordan story, this divorce should not come as a surprise to anyone. The shocking thing should be the fact that they made it 17 years.