Jordan on gambling: 'Very embarrassing' - AfroChat - African American

SistahSpeak · October 21st, 2005, 12:05 AM

Michael Jordan comes clean about his high-stakes gambling in a "60 Minutes" interview set to air Sunday, saying he crossed the line to the point of being "stupid" but was never a compulsive gambler.

"Yeah, I've gotten myself into situations where I would not walk away, and I've pushed the envelope," Jordan told CBS correspondent Ed Bradley in an interview taped in Chicago last month.

But things didn't get to the point where he was willing to risk his livelihood or his family, the former Bull said in one of his first major television interviews in years.

The CBS sit-down, scheduled to air at 6 p.m. Sunday, comes ahead of the release of Jordan's new book, Driven from Within.

Jordan, 42, said it was that same drive to win that trumped sound judgment at the gambling tables.

"I want to go out on a limb and win, and sometimes that can take you past the stage where . . . you know you should probably take a step back from," he said. "It's very embarrassing . . . one of the things you totally regret. So you look at yourself in the mirror and say, 'I was stupid,' " the retired basketball great confessed.

SOURCE: Chicago Sun-Times
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I didnt' know he had a book coming out. I was/am a HUGE MJ fan. Definitely buying the book. He's human and flawed like we all are, but I always had respect for him--he always came across as an honorable guy. Yes, he talked garbage on the court, but while he is, hands down, the best player to have EVER played the game, he never had that air of arrogance that some of these young cats have, IMO.

mistermaxxx · October 21st, 2005, 01:28 AM

He was a Great Player,but not the Greatest IMO.I always said that the Marketingof Him went even more than his overall game.the truth IMO is that He Probably got suspended for Gambling because him as a Baseball player is about as believeable as Phillip Michael Thomas or Eddie Murphy's singing Career?? yeah ain't nobody trying to remember it too much. He had Hugh Hollins as a Buddy who was/is a NBA Ref. Jordan never had much stick,but the Powers that be covered Him because he was there Money Man.I think he was a great Player,but not the end all be all He is made out to be.He has a Book coming out like folks need more Michael Jordan Product to be out on the open Market??He still is a Shameless self-promoter.He ain't that much different than anybody playing now.Jordan never moved me like Magic Johnson or Shaq.

charliekilothree · October 21st, 2005, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mistermaxxx

He was a Great Player,but not the Greatest IMO.I always said that the Marketingof Him went even more than his overall game.the truth IMO is that He Probably got suspended for Gambling because him as a Baseball player is about as believeable as Phillip Michael Thomas or Eddie Murphy's singing Career?? yeah ain't nobody trying to remember it too much. He had Hugh Hollins as a Buddy who was/is a NBA Ref. Jordan never had much stick,but the Powers that be covered Him because he was there Money Man.I think he was a great Player,but not the end all be all He is made out to be.He has a Book coming out like folks need more Michael Jordan Product to be out on the open Market??He still is a Shameless self-promoter.He ain't that much different than anybody playing now.Jordan never moved me like Magic Johnson or Shaq.

MJ is/was better than Shaq and Magic put together.:)

SistahSpeak · October 21st, 2005, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charliekilothree

MJ is/was better than Shaq and Magic put together.:)

I couldn't agree more!

mistermaxxx · October 22nd, 2005, 04:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charliekilothree

MJ is/was better than Shaq and Magic put together.:)

please speak for yourself. Magic played all 5 Positions His Rookie year. He changed the game with a Big Man playing Point Guard."SHOWTIME". Magic is one of the very Few Cats that could Beat you with only scoring 2 points in a whole Game.Magic could play Jordan's Game,but Jordan had to score alot to keep up with Magic. Shaq:Phil Jackson was asked point blank if you had to start your team with Either Shaq or Jordan who would you pick&Phil said SHAQ. Game Ova.you can't teach Dominance.

October 22nd, 2005, 04:11 AM

In the long run it doesn't matter who was the "greatest" of all time. I don't see any of you "athletes" on the court proving anything. You people need to chill out and read more books.

charliekilothree · October 22nd, 2005, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mistermaxxx

please speak for yourself. Magic played all 5 Positions His Rookie year. He changed the game with a Big Man playing Point Guard."SHOWTIME". Magic is one of the very Few Cats that could Beat you with only scoring 2 points in a whole Game.Magic could play Jordan's Game,but Jordan had to score alot to keep up with Magic. Shaq:Phil Jackson was asked point blank if you had to start your team with Either Shaq or Jordan who would you pick&Phil said SHAQ. Game Ova.you can't teach Dominance.

I was speaking for myself.:whistling

sailor wife · October 22nd, 2005, 01:48 PM

He's great, but he was arrogant though. Wellspoken, but arrogant in a mature and quiet way.
I haven't felt the same about MJ since he cheated on his wife with a white woman....not that it would be better if the mistress were black....anyway I guess I had him on some kind of pedastal....

saraphen · October 22nd, 2005, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sailor wife

He's great, but he was arrogant though. Wellspoken, but arrogant in a mature and quiet way.

It goes with the territory. They teach it in Talking Trash 101.

sailor wife · October 24th, 2005, 03:29 PM

Jordan Felt 'Used' By Wizards

Oct. 22, 2005

(CBS) Michael Jordan feels used by the Washington Wizards, the basketball team that unceremoniously fired him, he says, just when he was trying his best to help the franchise become profitable.

Getting fired was a particularly painful experience, especially after undergoing surgery to enable him to return to playing, says Jordan in his first major television interview in years with 60 Minutes correspondent Ed Bradley, this Sunday, Oct. 23, at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

“I didn’t have to [start playing again],” says Jordan. “But I did it with the benefit of trying to help an organization to get back on their feet. And the gratitude that was given? It was, ‘your service is no longer wanted or needed.’ So I felt like I was used in a sense,” he tells Bradley.

Jordan says he didn’t see the firing coming. “No. If that was the case I obviously wouldn’t have gone back to play….I felt like I played injured, I went through surgery and I did the things that a lot of these young kids did not do,” he says.

The young kids in the game nowadays are getting so spoiled, Jordan tells Bradley, it’s affecting their work ethic. “The kids today are being given things that they haven’t earned….I think the game is being cheated…. Simple as that,” says Jordan.

At 42, Jordan says he could still make a contribution in the NBA, though he admits it’s a case of mind over body. “Oh yeah, sure [I could contribute]. Even though, physically, I can’t do it, the mind says, ‘Yeah, I can still do it,’ and I still think I can do it better than most in the NBA,” he tells Bradley.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/...in955628.shtml