BASKETBALL Jordan bows out
About the article
This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from January 1999.
Brought to you by
That would have worked. After all, he marked his return with a two-word fax that said: ``I'm back."
But this occasion called for more and Jordan knew it.
So, with his wife at his side and in the arena where he worked his magic, he almost cried and almost sounded content in pronouncing himself retired from the Chicago Bulls leaving himself the tiniest of outs.
``Mentally, I'm exhausted. I don't feel I have a challenge. Physically, I feel great," the 35-year-old Jordan told a packed news conference at the United Center. This is a perfect time for me to walk away from the game."
In doing so, for the second time in five years, the National Basketball Association's greatest player ended his 13-year career with six championships, five MVP awards, 10 scoring titles and unsurpassed worldwide fame.
Jordan claimed three international honors, leading the United States to the 1983 Pan Am Games title, the 1984 Olympic title and was a key member of the 1992 U.S. Olympic pic "Dream Team" that rolled to the gold in Barcelona, Spain, by an average margin of victory of 43.8 points.
So is retirement forever this time?
``I never say never, but it's 95, 99.9 percent. I'm very secure in my decision," Jordan said.
Pressed on the tiny window he left open, Jordan said: ``Ninety-nine point-nine is as you read it. It's not really 100 percent, but it's close. So that's where I stand. I'm not going to say `never', never. I'll say 99.9. Take it for what it's worth."
Pressed again on why he wouldn't say 100 percent, Jordan shot back: ``Because it's my 1 percent and not yours."
Jordan looked dapper as always, wearing a dark blue suit, shimmering gold tie and gold earring dangling from his left lobe. The only thing that looked out of place was the bandage wrapped around his right index finger. Jordan said he severed a tendon while cutting a cigar, an injury that needs surgery and would have sidelined him for the first two months of the season had he not retired.
The injury had no bearing on his decision, which he said he made several months ago but waited to announce until the lockout ended.
Jordan alluded to his first retirement in 1993, when he briefly pursued a professional baseball career before returning late in the 1994-95 season.
``Well, we do this again for the second time," he said to open the news conference.
A few sentences later he added: There won't be another announcement to baseball or anything to that nature."
``I thought about saying two words _ `I'm gone' _ but I owe the fans and the media more than that," he said.
``It's tough. I'm doing a good job of trying to hold back the emotions because it's like taking away something that I truly have loved. I started when I was 12 years old, I'm 36 next month, so for 24 years I've been playing the game. It's sad that I'm leaving the game, but it's happy because my life is starting to go into a whole other stage."
