Most athletes had clauses in their contracts. A clause would prohibit a player from playing sports outside of their profession. However, there was an exception for Michael Jordan. He had something called a “love of the game” clause which would allow him to play pick-up basketball games at any time, against whoever he wanted.
To compare, in 2019, Patrick Mahomes was told that he could no longer play basketball during the off-season because the risk of injury was too high.
He Has Beef With Sports Illustrated
Not every sports publication was on board with Michael Jordan when he switched careers to play for the Chicago White Sox. Sports Illustrated wrote, “Michael Jordan has no more business patrolling right field in Comiskey Park than Minnie Minoso has bringing the ball upcourt for the Chicago Bulls."
As you can imagine, Jordan was not at all a fan of this and hasn’t spoken with Sports Illustrated since it was published. In all fairness, his transition into the MLB was not the best. He played one season for the White Sox minor league system but never made it onto the major league roster.
Why He Gave Baseball a Swing?
The first time Michael Jordan retired from the NBA was because he said that he lacked the desire to keep playing. However, the real reason had to do with the passing of his father. It was his father’s dream to see Jordan play baseball, so he wanted to bring that dream to life.
The transition from the Chicago Bulls to the White Sox was fairly easy for Jordan because the two teams had the same owner. During his minor league career, Jordan hit -202 with three home runs and 51 runs batted in. After what we would call a second wind for basketball, Jordan rejoined the NBA in 1995 and was ready to win more titles.
Third Time's a Charm
As we found out earlier, Michael Jordan first retired from the NBA in 1994, but after leaving the MLB, he went back to the Bulls in 1995. He won another three titles with Chicago and retired again saying that he was done for good.
Ten years later he made a comeback and played for the Washington Wizards, but after suffering some injuries he retired for the last time.
He Loves To Gamble
Michael Jordan didn’t hide the fact that he liked to gamble. In 1993, he was seen at an Atlantic City Casino the night before a playoff game against the New York Knicks. Although he is worth millions of dollars, he lost roughly $60,000 that night.
It was in 2005 when Michael finally opened up about his gambling problem in an interview with 60 minutes. “I’ve gotten myself into situations where I would not walk away and I’ve pushed the envelope. Is that compulsive? Yeah, it depends on how you look at it. If you’re willing to jeopardize your livelihood and your family, then yeah.”