We’ve all heard the story and if you didn’t, you’ll hear it over and over again before MJ is officially inducted into the Hall of Fame about how he didn’t make his varsity team as a sophomore. However, Jordan’s old PE teacher says that he was never cut from his Laney High varsity basketball team as a 10th grader.
“Back then, (most) 10th-graders played JV; that’s just the way it was. Nobody ever ‘cut’ Michael Jordan,†Sutton, who still teaches physical education, said this month, shaking her head as she retold the story for at least the 100th time.
“Him not making the varsity that year was not his motivator – he was motivated well before that. He just always wanted to be the best.â€
So what does this all mean? I’ll tell you. It means that if this PE teachers story is true, and you’re in her class. In her eyes, you have no chance of making the Laney high basketball team unless you’re a relative of Leroy Smith. You might as well just to take up video games instead kiddo. That’s what it means.
Via Charlotte Observer