News

Michael Jordan’s 20-page love letter to girlfriend in the ’80s sells for $25k at auction – Read excerpts

A 1989 handwritten love letter from Michael Jordan to actress Amy Hunter has now been sold for $25,703, with the price of the auctioned letter benefitting from Jordan’s recent 10-part docuseries The Last Dance.

Six years ago, the letter had been sold for only $2,560. But Jordan’s penciled confessions to his inamorata is not the only thing that has seen good PR since Last Dance.

The NBA icon’s rookie card has now sold for $97,200 while a game-day jersey has also gone for $288,000 following the release of the documentary.

In his letter, Jordan seemed like a man who was in love with a woman but with whom he could not be. He told Hunter, who is now married to another man, that:

“…If I was Michael Jordan, the ordinary man with a 9 to 5 job, then it wouldn’t be hard to admit my mistake. But instead, I am Michael Jordan who is put on the pedestal and viewed to be the perfect role model. A lot of people, not just kids, but whole families. Can you imagine the responsibilities I have to deal with.”

The mistake Jordan alluded to was not settling with Hunter. At the time, he had a child with Juanita Vanoy, the woman to whom he’d be married for 17 years.

On his inability to be with Hunter, he wrote:

“Amy when I met you I was in a transitional period in my life. I didn‘t want to settle down but I didn’t want to be alone. So I was looking for someone to keep me company. But no added pressure on me. But now looking back I couldn’t have that and be happy.”

When fame came for him after four seasons in the NBA, Jordan noted that simple decisions became more difficult:

“Amy I have learned that being in that situation you must be able to deal with a lot of opportunities. Opportunities in reference to women, opportunities in reference to business, opportunities in reference to status and everything that comes along with it. So you see I had everything a young man could ever dream about. Some people would say I was in heaven, but you know what I have learned from being in a situation that everybody would love to be in as a part of. You learn how to be selfish and hurt others. You become this way without even knowing it.”

In one of the pages, Jordan considered polygamy as a way of keeping both the mother of his child and the woman he loved. He seemed to have written in recognition of what the presence of both women would mean for him.

He does, however, end the letter with: “Amy, I will always love you until the day I die!”

The letter does not provide insight into his life as an athlete but revealed a softer side of a man who has come to embody competitiveness and dominance.

Nii Ntreh

Nii writes on African culture, politics and the global Black experience.

Recent Posts

‘It felt really scary’ – 14-year-old Nigerian ballet sensation on learning he’s largely blind in one eye

Anthony Madu, the 14-year-old Nigerian dancer from Lagos who gained admission to a prestigious ballet…

17 hours ago

‘I remember the day when 56 dollars would change my life’: Wayne Brady reveals humble beginnings

Actor-host Wayne Brady recently opened up about his early financial struggles in his now thriving…

17 hours ago

This 1-year-old loves to greet people at Target, so the store hired him as its youngest employee

Mia Arianna, also known as @mia.ariannaa on TikTok, helped her son become an honorary team…

18 hours ago

Postman drives 379 miles at his own expense to deliver lost World War II letters to a family

Alvin Gauthier, a Grand Prairie USPS postman, recently went above and beyond to brighten a…

21 hours ago

Maj. Gen. Fatuma Gaiti Ahmed becomes Kenya’s first-ever female air force head

Maj. Gen. Fatuma Gaiti Ahmed is the first female commander of the air force and…

22 hours ago

All Benjamin E. Mays High School seniors gain admission to HBCU Morris Brown College in surprise announcement

Benjamin E. Mays High School brought together its 272 senior class members for a meeting…

1 day ago

Meet the formerly incarcerated single mom who has gone viral for passing bar exam on first try

Afrika Owes' emotional response to learning that she had passed the bar exam on her…

1 day ago

New York attorney accused of hiring hitman to kill Zimbabwean ex-wife sentenced

A 49-year-old New York attorney was on April 26 sentenced to 10 years in federal…

1 day ago

Cher, 77, who is dating 38-year-old Alexander Edwards, explains why she dates younger men

During an appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show on Wednesday, pop legend Cher opened up…

1 day ago

11-year-old accidentally shot to death by 14-year-old brother with stolen gun

Authorities in Florida said an 11-year-old boy was accidentally shot and killed by his 14-year-old…

1 day ago

16-year-old Ethiopian Hana Taylor Schlitz breaks sister’s record to become the youngest graduate from TWU

The famous Taylor Schlitz family is making headlines once more as the youngest of the…

2 days ago

Tahra Grant is reportedly the first Black woman to be Chief Comms Officer at a major Hollywood studio

Sony Pictures Entertainment has appointed Tahra Grant as its Chief Communications Officer. She replaces Robert…

2 days ago

How Ashley Fox quit her Wall Street job and built a startup to financially empower those Wall Street would never talk to

Meet Ashley M. Fox, the founder of Empify and the first in her family to…

2 days ago

‘It wasn’t worth it’ – Tyra Banks says the first time she drank alcohol was when she was 50

Tyra Banks, the iconic former host of Dancing With the Stars, has made a delightful…

2 days ago

Brazilian woman who wheeled dead uncle to bank to withdraw his money is being investigated for manslaughter

A Brazilian woman named Érika de Souza, 42, is under investigation for manslaughter after authorities…

2 days ago