Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 53

Thursday, June 10, 1993 The Arizona Republic E5 Jordan's TV appearance criminal 4 basketball. Then I'm happy." Had vJtffldan said all of this some time agohaiS allowed this thing to fester in public, in his own mind, this would have been over with. And on opening night of the NBA Finals, his off-court life would not still be upstaging his own court excellence. Whether he is a flawed human being or not is of no lasting importance-ta anyone but himself and his family. His little dance with Rashad was very self-serving, ill-considered and not at all helpful in answering the questions he imagines the public wants to know about him.

The public wants to know if he can hit the jumper. Yes. Can he fly to the basket? Yes. Can he take over a basketball game by himself? Yes. Has he gotten the Bulls off to an inevitable repeat? Yes, he has.

Is he the greatest basketball player ever? Yes, he is. So, what did he accomplish by breaking his vow of silence? This is what it looked like. Jordan sure looked guilty of Stop the presses! Michael speaks. I think that was Michael Jordan behind those dark glasses, though it might have been a candidate for the witness protection program. Did he know the camera was on? Was he wired to a polygraph we couldn't see? Jordan's first step back as icon and wonder symbol looked more like testimony than conversation, not exactly establishing a tone of trust, even if there was a credentialed interrogator on the other side of the camera.

"Jordan kept his word," a print reporter said. "He said he wasn't talking to the press and he talked to Ahmad Rashad." Jordan's life, Jordan's choice. Spokesman returns After the Bulls had disposed of Phoenix by a deceptively modest eight points, Jordan resumed talking to the honest press, reclaiming his status as spokesman for the Bulls. "I feel like talking," Jordan said. Still, Jordan chose NBC to relay his story to his concerned constituency the shoes-underwear-cars-hambur- said, it's all about making history.

"Do you have a gambling problem?" Rashad had asked. The last time Jordan was posed that question, he disappeared into his cocoon. This time, eyes hidden, he reassured us he did not. No one's business It wasn't anybody's business but Jordan's then, and it isn't anybody's business but his now. "When I walk away from this game," Jordan said, "that's the only thing people are going to say was a bad thing about Michael Jordan." Gambling is legal but bad? The question isn't sorted out in Jordan's own mind.

How can he expect a common opinion from strangers? "I didn't commit a crime," Jordan said. "I gambled. And if that's the least I can be considered to have on my repertoire, my resume I'm a competitor and I gambled, let's say a half-million dollars, yet I'm still living, I'm not broke. Financially, I'm set. I don't have to work.

I can choose what' I choose to do after I leave I frCSfktrrmA F. Art 1993 'amry dx Model 11 '-'v if Air Conditioning Loaded with many options! Stereo Cassette The All Mew ll tli oroiitisi The Bulls' Michael Jordan beats the Suns' Mark West to a ball Wednesday night I will not quit because of what the media have done to me. to push Jordan, who had been letting his actions do his talking, broke his vow of silence, My pride won't let me leave because no one else is going me out. ytff fM 4'jVJtvs sjts Great transportation with incredible fuel economy! Come test drive the all NEW 1993 Corolla! BERHIE Lin Chicago Tribune gers-thirst-quencher customers. The network did him no favors, lighting him like a criminal all the while Jordan was insisting a criminal is exactly what he isn't.

Nowhere in all the silliness surrounding this non-story had the word criminal appeared. The worst thing anyone accused Jordan of was poor judgment. The Jordan that presented himself after the game was more familiar than the pinched subject flailing for sympathy on TV. Jordan laughed and chewed gum and seemed happy to be back in the mix. From i here on, he Michael Then, it was reported that Jordan was seen at an Atlantic City casino during the early morning hours.

"I've really been at peace with myself," Jordan said when asked about how he felt during the silence. "Lots of things were written about me. But I knew what ray motives were." With Rashad, he left little doubt about his immense pride. There had been some talk that Jordan, fed up at the media scrutiny, would make a fast break to Europe. Or that he might even retire.

Jordan Toyota 131406 PQT ITIOnth 1993 Toyota 131560 per montl 1 The all New T-100 Full size Toyota Truck. This one is a 6 cylinder with Air fftruHifinninn and a real beauty! mm Aiiv Jordae speaks 1993 Toyota Paul F. GeroThe Arizona Republic Bulls superstar guard Michael Jordan scored a game-high 31 1 points on 14-of-28 shooting Wednesday night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The eight-year veteran complemented his scoring with seven rebounds, five assists and five steals. Die Aiuzx)na Republic i -i 1 AIR, from page El $300,000.

Rashad did not interject to ask whether Esquinas might have been stupid instead of sick. Then again, Rashad didn't ask a lot of things. He answered one of his own questions when he said Esquinas used the million-dollar figure because "it sells books." Jordan said he quit talking because the media had portrayed him as a criminal. Gambling, he said, is a hobby and not illegal. At least, it's not in Nevada, Atlantic City and the Fort McDowell Indian Reservation.

Apparently, Rashad heard all that Jordan was going to say about gambling. When asked about it after the Chicago victory, Jordan said: "I've put that all behind me." When asked why he agreed to the the NBC interview, he said: "I felt like talking." OK. Meanwhile, Jordan was expansive on the Suns' and the Bulls' chances in the best-of-seven series, which resumes Friday night with Game 2 at America West Arena. He praised Suns forward Richard Dumas. He said the Bulls' experience began to tell in the late minutes when a Suns threat unraveled.

He laughed at some of the tales told about him and fellow Dream Teamer and golf partner Charles Barkley. "That's just some of the hype that comes with the NBA Finals," Jordan said. Apparently, he has no problem with that kind of hype. It's the rumors about his life off the basketball court that trouble him. His media boycott began after Game 2 of an Eastern Conference finals loss to the Knicks.

131401 P6r mOilth Paul F. GeroThe Arizona Republic mm "Could be," he said. "But I will not quit because of what the media have done to me. My pride won't let me leave because no one else is going to push me out." In Game 1, it looked as if the Suns weren't going to push away his chances at leading the Bulls to another title. History, he said, was just his way of expressing confidence.

"And that confidence is the reason we're here," he said. "When I said history, I thought I was speaking for my teammates and the city of Chicago." AH vehtdas ara subbed to prior sata and may not axaclly as Hustralad Payments ara al pkis tax, OAC. (1) "93 Camry: 42 mo. teas, at Inception: St OOO Cap cost reduction. 1st paymant of $219 phis tax.

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