Michael Jordan retired three times in his basketball career. The first time he abruptly decided to retire was back in 1993. The news came about three months after his father’s untimely demise. At the time, he stated that he no longer had the desire to play the sport.

However, after a two-year hiatus and a short baseball career, Jordan returned to the court in 1995. Four years later, MJ retired again from the league due to the inevitable departure of the Chicago Bulls’ then-head coach Phil Jackson. Evidently, Jordan came out of retirement for one last time in 2001 as a Washington Wizards player. It was then, that a fellow Wizards teammate witnessed MJ’s soft side.

The world knows the fiercely competitive Michael Jordan. The Chicago Bulls legend, never spared anyone from his trash talks and intimidating personality. Fans will probably agree that MJ is one of the most ruthless players in the sports world. In fact, very few can match his level of competitiveness. Additionally, MJ preferred to keep his distance from political dramas back in the 90s. Therefore, he rarely voiced his opinions when he was asked about politics.

This portrayed MJ as the sports person who remained detached from not just politics but also from activist works. Not just fans, but his teammates too were convinced that ‘His Airness’ did not care about such matters.

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However, a certain incident caused a former Wizards teammate to see MJ in a new light. It was when MJ had come out of his second retirement to join the Wizards in 2001. A year before that, he had returned to the league as part owner and president of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards.

Etan Thomas talks about the time Michael Jordan got emotional

Michael Jordan announced his decision to come out of his second retirement about two weeks after the tragic events of 9/11 occurred. Former Washington Wizards teammate Etan Thomas recalled the time the entire team sat in the locker room and were watching TV. The television was showing the family members of some of the people who died in the attacks. Thomas said that when he looked at Jordan, he saw His Airness trying to hold back tears. Then he turned to one of the Wizards staff and told them to give away his annual salary for the welfare of the families.

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“And I looked over at MJ and he was locked in on the screen, and his eyes started watering and he bit his bottom lip as if he was trying to fight back the tears. Then he told [Wizards personnel] right there to donate his entire year’s salary to the family of the victims of 9/11,” said Thomas.

Jordan donated about $1 million to the families of the 9/11 victims. Furthermore, Jordan specifically said that the amount should go directly to the families and not through any third parties. Thomas, who is now an activist himself, said that while people saw MJ as a person who didn’t care, it was not how Thomas saw him.

“Now, he didn’t take political stands like Ali or speak out about the community like Craig Hodges. But I can’t cast him as if he doesn’t care at all, because that’s not what I physically saw with my own eyes,” said Thomas.

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Do you think MJ used to maintain his ‘careless’ persona for a reason? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!