There was a time Michael Jordan loved his family more than anything. This time existed during MJ’s early days in the NBA. Though ultra-rich from his NBA paycheck and Nike contract, Michael was still making a name for himself and his family.
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He was yet not the corporate personality he would become leading up to his first championship. However, the success of Air Jordan had given him enough cred with Nike. So, Jordan used that cred to help set up a business for his father James Jordan, and brother Larry.
The business, a string of Flight 23 stores, would fail miserably. Its questionable running would also sour MJ’s relationship with his family a little. James would later take the money he had earned from the closing down of Flight 23 stores to start another venture.
The new venture, quite like the Flight 23 stores, was as much a failure if not more. By the summer of 1993, it had only led to humiliation for James Jordan and, in its own way, for Michael Jordan.
James Jordan’s poor business acumen led to humiliation
The Flight 23 stores had opened up MJ’s eyes toward the difficulties of navigating a business venture with his family. He understood James Jordan was a wayward man and had his character flaws. But despite the absolute blunder that was Flight 23 stores, MJ ensured James received money from the Flight 23 stores.
James and Larry would then start another business together. Smartly, Michael kept himself out of this one. But that did not prevent things from turning worse than the Flight 23 stores fiasco.
This time, with no Phil Knight and Sonny Vaccaro overseeing things, the business turned out even worse. Apparently, James did not pay his taxes and did not even pay the suppliers. The authorities still wanted their tax and came in to demand it, the suppliers on the other hand started picking up unsold items from shelves to pay off the debts owed by James and Larry.
Roland Lazenby, the author of Michael Jordan: The Life, detailed the failure of both businesses in detail. He also wrote of how humiliating it got for James by the end.
Lazenby: “The businesses he had started with Larry after the Flight 23 fiasco were now failing, as authorities moved in to collect unpaid taxes and suppliers began removing items from store shelves over unpaid bills.”
Obviously pleased that my book, Michael Jordan, The Life, ranks high on this prominent list of books of interest to business people and investors. https://t.co/XbvLNH8eKo
— Roland Lazenby (@lazenby) January 2, 2023
Michael Jordan vowed to never do business with his family
The Flight 23 store was a shocking revelation for MJ. Not only did it open his eyes to James’ questionable character, it also showed him the troubles of doing business with his family.
Flight 23, in the grand scheme of things, was just a drop of ink in the various endorsements and business ventures undertaken by Jordan. For him to be troubled so much by it was a waste. Especially the family problems it bought to the forefront were too much for Michael to handle. He vowed to never do business with his family again and stayed true to his vow.
