When it comes to Michael Jordan, you can never run out of stories. Jordan is known as one of the most competitive sportsmen ever. Therefore, MJ’s past stories mostly include trash-talking famous celebrities or teammates, getting into altercations, or wild gambling incidents, all showcasing his intensely competitive nature.

There are also stories of him reportedly pushing his teammates to the point of bullying, to bring out the best in them. But that’s a story for another time because MJ’s fateful encounter with a Samurai Sword might be something many fans haven’t heard about.

Back in 1982, two years before MJ was drafted in the NBA, veteran NFL player, Bill Glass had founded a faith-based organization know as Bill Glass behind the Walls. The ministry mostly focused on prisons and conducted several events inside for prisoners. It was formed after Glass retired from the NFL after the 1968 season. More than a decade later, during one of the ministry’s visit to a prison in Raleigh, North Carolina, Glass thought of including a well-known player from the area for the small event. Initially he had asked for former UNC student and NBA veteran Sam Perkins.

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However, he was accompanied by 19-year-old Michael Jordan. And that’s how he ended up going to a small affair that almost ended up endangering his NBA career before it had even started.

Michael Jordan once got cut by a samurai sword

At the time Bill Glass was told about Michael Jordan, he hadn’t made any such major accomplishments to justify his current status as a basketball player. However, UNC coach Dean Smith assured Glass that MJ had a promising future. Evidently, when the time came for the visit, he had already become quite a celebrity after he led his team to the 1982 NCAA championship title with his game winning shot. Then came the fateful visit day.

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As the purpose of the visit was to encourage the inmates to walk of the right path, Jordan volunteered to take part in a risky stunt. The stunt was that a watermelon would be placed on MJ’s stomach and a blindfolded man would cut the watermelon in half without harming His Airness. The watermelon was placed, the man was blindfolded, and all that was left was for the man to perform the stunt.

That’s when things went downhill. The swordsman swiftly cut the watermelon, however it was only cut partially. Determined to get through the stunt successfully, the swordsman struck again, this time a little too deeply than needed. Therefore, Jordan ended up sustaining a shallow cut.

Glass said, “He cut Michael, but it wasn’t deep. We sent Michael to the hospital, and they sewed him up with three stitches.”

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Thankfully, the former Chicago Bulls star got out of the situation with minor injuries. After the incident, he remained good friends with Glass and his organization. However, he made sure to never take park in any such stunt or the organization’s activities again. Good thinking on his part!