“I had my reasons to not meet President Bush in the White House”: Michael Jordan remained secretive about why he didn’t want meet the President following first Bulls championship

Michael Jordan very openly claimed that he did not want to meet the US President at the time in 1991 for his own reasons. 

Michael Jordan was the most famous person in the world by the time the Chicago Bulls were ending their tyrannical reign over the NBA in the late 1990s. With him being mobbed by fans anywhere he went, regardless of the city, state, country, or even continent, the constant attention gets old real quick. 

It sure did for the 5x MVP as he admitted that it took merely 4 years in the limelight for him to get tired of the constant attention he received from the public. 

“On one road trip, we got into Denver at three I the morning and there were people sitting in the hotel lobby. I was tired. I said, ‘I’m sorry, please, I’m tired.’ Then I heard, ‘I guess that’s the Jordan rules.’ I kept walking. One of these days I’m going to say, ‘Go screw yourself.’” 

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With every moment of his life essentially documented in the public eye, Michael Jordan had to explain every one of his moves almost on a daily basis. 

Michael Jordan on why he didn’t meet the President after winning a title in ‘91. 

Meeting the President of the United States after winning a North American sporting championship has been a tradition in the country for decades. Every now and then this tradition is broken, with the 2020 Los Angeles Lakers being the most recent and famous example of not going to the White House to meet with Donald Trump. 

Michael Jordan, in 1991 after winning his first championship, did not join his Chicago Bulls on their visit to the White House to meet with then President, George H.W. Bush. In an interview with Playboy in 1992, Jordan talked about this choice of his.

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“I didn’t want to go. I had something else to do. Before I would have said, ‘Well, I had my reasons.’ I’d do it in a very respectful way. But that’s none of your business. The bulls knew I wasn’t going, so why must I tell you? Go ask them why I didn’t go. They knew.” 

What’s surprising however, is that Bulls GM, Jerry Krause, revealed during media day prior to the start of the ‘92 season that he nor anyone on the Bulls knew that he wasn’t going to make it to the White House.