?I Became Very Angry and I Started to Retaliate?: Livid Michael Jordan Learned a Crucial Lesson From His Mother About Rising Above Racism

NBA legend Michael Jordan is arguably the greatest basketball player ever. He has been one of the most influential players in the game’s history. His family played a huge part in his success. Especially his parents, Deloris and James Jordan. The two had a great influence on him growing up. When he was 15, Jordan started to learn about the history of African American people from the TV miniseries, ‘Roots.’ And it made the young MJ very disturbed and angry knowing about it.

In 2000, Tim Russert interviewed Jordan on ‘Meet The Press’. During the sit-down, Russert asked him about the young Jordan developing an attitude after watching ‘Roots’ and about Deloris Jordan’s teaching to “rise above it”. The six-time champion was a bit surprised Russert knew about it, however, he admitted.

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“Actually during that time, I was very angry. Because I was learning about the history of what happened to us. And that’s what ‘Roots’ did to me,” MJ said. He stated that the show brought out a lot of emotions he did not know he had. Jordan continued, “And I became very angry and I started to retaliate in school.”?

Michael Jordan received valuable advice from his mother

Deloris Jordan understood what her son was going through at the time. So she intervened. In the interview, Michael Jordan then talked about his mother’s advice to him. “It took my mother to come to me and tell me, ‘You see history is something you should never forget. But you can rise above it. And make an impact and make a change and make people aware of some of the pain we have endured,'” said Jordan.

The five-time MVP’s parents had many rules in the household. One of which is to support each other whenever any of them had a competition or game. So whenever, Jordan or any of his siblings had any competition, the rest of the family made sure they are in attendance. And they supported them no matter how they performed. They tried to continue this tradition even after he came to the league. They made sure at least one family member attended the games.

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However, it became difficult after everyone started their own career. So Deloris and James Jordan decided either of them should try to attend MJ’s games. His mother has been a huge influence on one of the most important decisions in his life.

Michael Jordan wanted to sign with Adidas and he was not even ready to hear what Nike had to offer. But his mother asked him to at least attend the meeting and listen to the offer. After the meeting, Jordan signed with Nike and the rest, as they say, is history. Nike even released a colorway of Jordan Series 01 to pay homage to Deloris Jordan.