Michael Jordan donates $2 million for Hurricane Florence relief

Michael Jordan grew up playing high school basketball in Wilmington, North Carolina. So when the former NBA star watched the destruction caused by Hurricane Florence to his hometown and surrounding area, he acted quickly to help.

The six-time NBA champion and Charlotte Hornets owner donated $2 million on Tuesday to assist residents of the Carolinas -- $1 million each to the American Red Cross and the Foundation For The Carolinas' Hurricane Florence Response Fund.

"It just hits home," Jordan told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "I know all of those places: Wilmington, Fayetteville, Myrtle Beach, New Bern, and Wallace, which is where my father is from. So quite naturally it hits home, and I felt like I had to act in a sense that this is my home."

"At the end of the day, it makes you think about the path that you have taken, and where your life has taken you," Jordan said. "And I just feel like, well, maybe if I can help in some sort of way all of the people, and all of the places, that have helped me along the road."

Jordan said it's fulfilling to have the resources to help.

"I have been one of the lucky ones to move on and build an unbelievable career," said Jordan, who played college basketball at North Carolina. "It just makes it a little more special when you can actually help out an area you know very, very well."

"We reached out to try to find as many partners who are willing to sacrifice and give to this cause," Jordan said. "The Red Cross will deal with the immediate food and shelter and the Foundation For The Carolinas will deal more with the long-term assistance. This is not a short-term thing. This is going to be a process, but it is going to take time."

[SOURCE: ESPN]

What's going on with Michael Jordan?

By George L. Cook III AfricanAmericanReports.Com EMAIL

In the last couple of weeks something has happened to NBA legend Michael Jordan. In the past, Jordan has been notorious for doing little to help his own while profiting off his own by selling them $200 sneakers that they can't afford. This is a man who for most of his professional life has avoided even talking about issues that affect African Americans. He has not done or said anything that might piss off anyone for fear of hurting sneaker and apparel sales of Nike and his own brand.

But recently things seem to be changing. Jordan has given $1 million to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and another $5 million to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. That's not the Michael Jordan many of us have always heard about.

What is going on here? I have three theories.

THEORY ONE: An alien has inhabited the body of Michael Jordan and is trying to curry favor among humans before sending for his fleet of starships to blow us all to hell and take our entire species as a food source.

THEORY TWO: As Theory #1 is probably not likely here is my second theory. Mr. Jordan fell asleep and had a dream where three ghosts, the ghost of basketball past, the ghost of money loving present, and the ghost of lonely and despised future came to give him a visit. Jordan woke up terrified after seeing his grave site that no one except Nike employees visits and vowed to mend his selfish ways.

THEORY THREE: This is what I think is the most likely theory. Mr. Jordan has started to realize that he doesn't live in a bubble and is acknowledging what is going on around him. He has seen young NBA players like Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Paul step up and want to help their communities with just not words but with their actions. Jordan did a self-check after watching those younger players and realized that it's a shame that he didn't carry on the activist legacy of James Brown, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Muhammad Ali. He then realized that he is still a relatively young man, and there is still much that he can do with his fame, voice, and yes his money.

Micheal Jordan may not have come to this point in life when many of us would have liked him to, but it's better late than ever.