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Michael Jordan Filmography
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Michael Jordan: Family tragedy
Jordan's father, James, was murdered in August 1993. While returning from the funeral of a friend, he decided to pull over onto the side of an interstate highway in North Carolina for a nap. While he was sleeping, two local criminals killed him and stole his Lexus (a gift from Michael), but the perpetrators were quickly found because they had made several calls from his cell phone. Michael and family did not immediately file a missing persons report, because the elder Jordan frequently took long trips by himself. By the time a report was filed, James' body, found bloated and floating in a river, had been cremated per local health laws as a John Doe. Media outlets initially tried connecting James' murder to Michael's alleged gambling habit, which had been widely publicized when Michael confessed to losing tens of thousands of dollars betting on his golf games.
Michael retired from basketball two days before the 1993-94 NBA season to pursue an unspectacular professional baseball career for the Birmingham Barons, a Chicago White Sox farm team. Many interpreted this pursuit of another childhood dream as a way to grieve. He batted .202 with 3 HR, 51 RBI, 30 SB (tied-5th in Southern League), 11 errors and 6 outfield assists. He led the club with 11 bases-loaded RBI and 25 RBI with runners in scoring position and two outs. He was never called up to the majors.
He ended his basketball retirement on March 19, 1995 by rejoining the Bulls. He led them to the Eastern Conference Semifinals that year, ultimately bowing out to the Orlando Magic. Beginning the next year, he won three consecutive NBA titles between 1996 and 1998, Jordan decided to retire again on January 13, 1999.
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