Michael Jordan had a penchant for escalating certain situations even as a child. It didn’t always pay off for him, however.
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Boys on the countryside usually have much more fun-filled, eventful lives. They often run real risks of injury just by virtue of being in more dangerous situations. This could be on the farm around animals, or around people and wildlife elsewhere.
The Jordan household was no exception. Michael was born to a hardworking pair of parents who didn’t mess about. They set their kid to work on their farm – a prospect that was sometimes dangerous. This particular incident is when MJ got taught a necessary lesson of how to conduct himself around animals:
“The Jordan boys thought it was hilarious to dance in the mud and make the pigs chase them around honking and snorting. A particularly annoyed sow disagreed.”
“She chased Mike toward the fence, and as he prepared to leap over the top wire to safety, he tripped. Caught the electric wire right across his chest.”
“About had his teeth chattering, he got shocked so bad, and left him with a burn across his chest. When he went inside for some sympathy, his parents told him, “You shouldn’t have been out there messing with the pigs.”
How his childhood defined Michael Jordan as a player
This was far from the only mishap he suffered as a kid in rural Wilmington. There was also a time when Michael Jordan got tossed about for a half mile on a bumpy horse ride.
On another occasion, he chopped off a bit of his own big toe while trying to cut wood with an ax. He’s missing a quarter of his big toe even today, though he carved a successful NBA career despite this.
All in all, it wasn’t the type of shielded childhood that he would’ve led if he was in Brooklyn – his brithday. It was still the kind of formative experience that toughened and readied him for the harsh real world.
