I'm watching Episode 6 of #TheLastDance and I am reminded of an interview that I watched a year ago.

In it, Michael Franzese, a prominent ex-mafia capo for the Gambino family (who at the time was working w/ the NBA teaching rookies about the dangers of gambling) 1/10.

explained that Michael Jordan retired from the NBA, around the time his father died, because high ranking officials knew about his gambling debt to the Mafia and this news was about to go public. 2/10.

The NBA didn't want to be disgraced or lose the guy who was the face of the NBA and taking it to every corner of the world. So instead of facing global embarrassment, Michael Jordan under the guise of playing baseball, was asked to quietly leave the NBA. 3/10.

In the same interview Franzese claims that it was well known at the time that MJ owed money to the mafia and apparently "his Dad paid the price" for his unwillingness to pay and the murder of James Jordan most likely "had something to do with his gambling problem." 4/10.

There was no sports star in the world as famous as MJ, and he generated a lot of buzz in the underground world, so killing him was not a smart decision. So they took out the guy closest to him; his father. 5/10.

I rarely dabble or entertain what some would call conspiracies but it makes sense. It's hard to not believe. Here at some facts.

-MJ had a gambling problem.
-He rubbed elbows with guys who were involved in fraud schemes and prominent figures in the gambling world. 6/10.

-He did not like paying people back.
-This is the early 90s the Mafia is alive and very active.
-He had just won a three peat and then he retires suddenly. 7/10.

So we are meant to believe that Michael Jordan, the greatest competitor of all-time, just upped and left the sport he loved to play minor league baseball?

Yeah... Idk about that. I can't prove it but it's the theory that makes the most sense to me. 8/10.

Here is a clip from interview that I referenced, for anyone interested. It sent me down a rabbit hole. 9/10.

Here is just one article from August of 1993 that discusses what I mentioned in this thread, in Michael Frazese's interview, and Episode 6 of #TheLastDance . 10/10. https://journaltimes.com/news/dad-s-death-is-cruelest-way-to-make-michael-pay/article_babbd292-0b3c-55c3-81ec-90ac4fc62bef.html