Michael Jordan grew up knowing he wanted to be a basketball player but while also realizing that he wasn’t physically able to pursue that dream of his. He eventually filled out and grew to be 6’6 by the time he was ready for university but at the beginning of 9th grade as a freshman, MJ stood at a mere 5’9.
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It’s common knowledge by now that Jordan didn’t make varsity for his high school team as a freshman or a sophomore. The reasoning behind this was in fact his stature. They would instead pick a friend of his who was already well above 6 feet tall.
Aside from shining on the junior varsity squad, Michael got up to quite a bit of trouble during his early days as a high schooler. So much so that his mother, Deloris, had to punish him the old fashioned way.
Michael Jordan was hit with a belt upon violating school policy
There were several instances where Michael Jordan delved into delinquency. One such moment was when he left school grounds on his own volition without any warning. To make matters worse, this was his first day of 9th grade at Laney.
The school suspended Jordan and as a result, Deloris Jordan pulled out a belt and hit the eventual basketball Hall-of-Famer multiple times. This wouldn’t lead to better behavior from Jordan however.
He would continuously find himself in trouble following this. However, it wouldn’t be his fault as people in his school would rile him up by either calling him racial slurs or erasing lines he’d drawn on the baseball pitch in an attempt to actually stay out of trouble.
He would eventually get sent to a detention center and would get kicked out of the center as well. “My mother takes me to her job and has me do homework all day in her hot a** car.”
Shaquille O’Neal was also disciplined as a child with a belt
Shaquille O’Neal openly admitted that his stepfather, who he considers to be his real father, would discipline him with a belt if he failed to obey what he told him to do. While this may seem extreme, Shaq has credited Philip Harrison for a lot of what he’s achieved so far in life.
It’s safe to say that perhaps using such drastic measures as punishment works out in the long run. After all, Michael Jordan and Shaq are two of the most successful retired athletes in North American sports.
