During the time this story broke, Jordan decided to make an ill-advised trip to Atlantic City – right in the middle of the 1993 playoff series against the New York Knicks. Jordan claimed to the media that he was gone well before midnight the night before Game 2 in New York; however, he was seen in the casino well past midnight and into the wee hours of the morning. That was the last time Jordan would do that – during the playoffs. It has been reported on more that one occasion that when Jordan played in New York or New Jersey he'd venture down to Atlantic City, or if he were in Los Angeles or Utah he'd likely make a pit stop in Las Vegas.

The day after this new gambling story broke about Jordan and Atlantic City; NBC announcer Bob Costas had a halftime interview with NBA Commissioner David Stern. During that interview, Costas badgered Stern about the story – much to the disdain of NBA Sports President Dick Ebersol who was screaming in Costas's earpiece to lay off and switch subjects. [5] Costas, much to his credit, did not back down and asked the tough questions that should have been asked. But to little avail.

NBC laid off the story from that point onward. Jordan became quite tight lipped as well. He stopped talking to the media. Even though such silence - especially during the playoffs - is a fineable offense in the NBA, Jordan never received a single fine. For Stern and the NBA, Jordan's silence might have been a blessing in disguise.

Breaking Point

By now, the NBA had had enough. They had been through this once before in 1992 with the Bouler ordeal. That "two-week investigation" ended with Commissioner David Stern announcing, "This situation has been investigated with complete cooperation of Michael and his attorneys and [the head of the NBA investigation] Judge Lacey has assured us that there appears to be no reason for the NBA to take action against Michael." [6] But in reality, the "two week investigation" consisted of a 2½-hour meeting between Jordan, his attorneys, and top NBA officials. The NBA never questioned either Bouler or any of the local or Federal investigating officers in the case, and never asked to see the records from Bouler's trial. No wonder there appeared to be no reason to take action against Jordan.

Jordan was merely given a slap on the wrist and told to watch who he associates with. He himself claimed to Chicago Tribune writer Bob Greene, "Was I gambling with goons who had bad reputations? Yeah, I was. Should I not gamble with goons anymore? Yeah, I shouldn't gamble with goons."

But now, in 1993, Jordan was on strike two and a half. During this second, and much more thorough investigation, the league was to discover that not only were the amounts involved larger, but also that the accusations were much more damning. According to the book Money Players: Days and Nights Inside the New NBA, in July 1993 the NBA interviewed Esquinas in its New York offices. During that interview, Esquinas told the investigators that in March of 1992, he had overheard a telephone conversation Jordan was having with an unknown person. During that phone call, Jordan talked about a betting line; saying "So you say the line is seven points." [7] Of what game, it is unknown. But this was a serious accusation. If Jordan was indeed gambling on sports, then he had broken that sacred, unwritten rule for professional athletes.

The question is, how credible did the NBA think this allegation was? I think they took it as quite credible. They most definitely did not want Jordan to become the NBA's version of Pete Rose, who was a certain Hall of Famer in baseball until he was suspended for life over gambling. Rose, the all-time hits leader in the MLB, never made it into the Hall of Fame despite all of his on the field accomplishments because off the field, he was a sports gambler.

Baseball was more than Pete Rose. But Jordan was more than basketball. He was Nike. He was McDonalds. He was Chevrolet. He was even considered a national hero by winning a gold medal for Team USA (the "Dream Team") in the 1992 Olympics. Jordan meant a lot of money to a lot of people. $40 million dollars a year in endorsement deals alone. And here it seemed that he was spinning out of control. Inching closer and closer to a revelation that would not only bring down a man, but what seemed like an American institution.

What was potentially even more threatening to the league than MJ's gambling was the fact that he was consistently associating with seeming criminals. He was putting himself in a position where he could easily be blackmailed. Perhaps blackmailed into doing something on the court like shaving points or worse – throwing games. I think at this point the NBA and Commissioner David Stern stepped in and talked to Michael Jordan about "retirement."

Retirement

I don't believe that the news conference called on October 6, 1993 was what it purported itself to be. There were no tears in Michael Jordan's eyes. There was no sadness, no cracking voices. Merely a statement followed by some quick, easy to answer questions, and then "retirement."

According to his own statement, why did Jordan decide to retire? First, he stated, "I just feel that at this particular time in my career, I've reached the pinnacle . . . that I don't have anything else to prove to myself." Quite hypocritical considering 17 months later he was back playing for the Bulls. I guess even after being named Rookie of the Year, leading the league in scoring for 7 years in a row, being named MVP twice, winning the NBA Championship three times, and being hailed as the greatest player to ever play the game, Jordan found something else he needed to prove.