Michael Jordan has spent decades being defined by championships, records and a competitive fire that few athletes have ever matched. Six titles with the Chicago Bulls, six Finals MVPs, five regular-season MVP awards and a career scoring average of 30.1 points per game that still stands as the best in NBA history.
Off the court, the brand he built has been worth billions for years and shows no signs of slowing down. But none of that is what made the news this week. This week, it was a phone call.
Ms. Etta, a former high school teacher now receiving hospice care at Lower Cape Fear LifeCare in North Carolina, got the chance to speak with one of her old students one more time.
That student was Michael Jordan. Staff at the facility had noticed his name kept coming up as Ms. Etta shared memories from her years teaching at Laney High School and they made it their mission to track him down.
It wasn't easy. Workers tried multiple ways to reach Jordan before Wendy, a social worker at LifeCare, picked up a call from an unknown number one evening. It was Jordan on the other end.
Wendy drove over to Ms. Etta's place that night so the two could connect over FaceTime together.
"They laughed, reminisced, picked at each other, and shared a moment that brought tears to everyone in the room," staff members at Lower Cape Fear LifeCare said, per WECT 6. SportsCenter further shared the update.
Michael Jordan's Roots at Laney High School
Jordan grew up in North Carolina and graduated from Emsley A. Laney High School in 1981. The school is tied to one of the most retold stories in sports history. During his sophomore year, Jordan was cut from the varsity basketball team. It is a moment that became part of his origin story long before anyone knew how far he'd go.
He never forgot where he came from, though. In 2019, Jordan donated more than $1.1 million to Laney High School with more than half of that going directly to the athletic department, per ABC 11.
For all the highlight reels and championship parades attached to Jordan's name, this one quiet FaceTime call painted a different picture entirely. One of the greatest players in the NBA took time out of his day to make sure a woman who taught him years ago got what she was hoping for.
