Horace Grant Dismisses Michael Jordan Gambling Rumors, Details How MJ’s “Trauma” Over Father’s Death Caused First Retirement

The death of his father in July 1993 left Michael Jordan in tremendous grief and shock. While coping with it, he decided to temporarily retire from basketball and pursue a baseball career. It was a wild turn of events at the time. Several conspiracy theories and rumors have been peddled around the curious case since then, and it refuses to abate even now. 

Some people believe that Jordan could have been tied up in gambling debt at the time. This, in turn, may have led to the murder of his father, James R. Jordan Sr., who was shot dead. That was a rumored explanation for what was reported as a random act of violence. But there is no evidence to support this claim.

When a former teammate of Jordan, Horace Grant, heard about these conspiracies, he could only be appalled at how people were focusing on the wrong thing. 

“People don’t know, in terms of he lost his dad. The trauma that a guy like that, who has no privacy, losing his dad, and the wear and tear on you mentally, can take a toll on you. He just wanted to get away, man,” Grant shared on All The Smoke.

Jordan cited mental burnout and a desire for privacy when he retired from the NBA. His father’s death made him lose passion for the game. Anyone who has ever dealt with the loss of a parent may relate. 

Of course, Jordan was always an avid gambler, and it was highly publicized. The conspiracy theories that made this connection also sound plausible. But Grant dismissed these rumors. 

“We never heard gambling and all of that sh*t because in our mind we had something to prove to ourselves, and the fans in the city of Chicago. That we had a legitimate chance to win without MJ,” Grant said.

Later on, the 4-time NBA champ revealed something not many may have known about Jordan while he was temporarily retired. 

“He used to come and practice with us. Yeah, he’d still come to practice,” revealed Grant.

Jordan stayed away from the NBA for 2.5 years before returning. After coming back, he won two more MVPs and three more championships. It put a bow on possibly the greatest career in league history. 

All in all, with social media nowadays, conspiracy theories tend to get out of hand. While some things could lead one to believe that Jordan’s father was murdered in connection with his gambling habits, none of them have been proven to be true.

Regardless, the conspiracy theories will rage on, with some choosing to believe in its validity. But Grant was someone close to the situation, and he is probably telling the truth.