“The Last Dance” has given fans a first-hand glimpse into the ruthless nature of Michael Jordan as a competitor. From his riding of teammate Scott Burrell, to his targeting of Toni Kukoc and Dan Majerle, and beyond, when Jordan had you in his sights — whether as a teammate or adversary — he didn’t just want to beat you. He wanted to push you to the point of breaking.
Now, imagine that dude is your dad.
That’s how Jeffrey, Marcus and Jasmine Jordan, Michael’s three children, grew up. The trio joined “The Breakfast Club” on Power 105.1 FM, hosted by DJ Envy, Charlamagne Tha God and Angela Yee, to discuss “The Last Dance,” what it was like being raised by Jordan and more.
Over the course of the above roughly half-hour conversation, compelling Jordan anecdotes came out in droves. One, from Marcus, spoke to the ways in which Michael’s legendary competitive spilled over into the parenting realm.
MARCUS: When we was little, we would play football on our knees, like tackle football on our knees with my dad, right. And so there was this one time where we were playing in their room and they had these round end tables at the end of their bed. And so, Jeff was going for a touchdown, and I’ll never forget it, my dad tackles Jeff into the glass table, Jeff hits his head on the the glass table. I thought he was dead… Like, me and Jasmine were terrified, we was crying, and my mom comes in the room, she snaps on him like ‘What’re y’all doing?’ (To Jeffrey) I think you had to get, what, 25 stitches?
JEFFREY: Yeah, about 30 stitches to the head.
MARCUS: So, yeah that’s the competitor (Michael was). Obviously it was an accident.
Even in a light-hearted game of knee football with the family, Michael wasn’t going to allow himself to be bested. Jeffrey has the scars to prove it (though this incident was, of course, an accident).
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But Michael’s children weren’t his teammates, nor his on-court foes. Marcus assured listeners in the interview that Jordan knew how to flip the switch from basketball player to father when necessary. Their childhood didn't mirror a Bulls practice.
“I think that’s one of the biggest things, one of the misconceptions (is) that he couldn’t turn that off,” Marcus told Envy, Charlamagne and Yee. “He definitely could turn that off and be dad, take us to school, making sure we got our work done and did everything we needed to do.
“But when it was on, it was on.”
No surprise there.
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