Michael Jordan does not have a secret illness and is in good condition despite fears about his health, a source close to the NBA legend confirmed to DailyMail.com.
Fans voiced their concerns earlier this week after a worrying photo emerged of Jordan, 61, watching a Champions League football match in Monaco on Thursday.
As he watched from the stands, the six-time NBA champion’s eyes looked worryingly yellow in the image, with many users speculating that he could be suffering from jaundice brought on by alcohol abuse or an elevated level of melanin pigment on the surface of the eye.
However, despite doctors revealing that those theories are not unfounded, a source confirmed that MJ is not battling any illness nor is he in poor health despite concerns about his yellow eyes.
The source told DailyMail.com: “Mike is fine. He is going to the doctor, he is just getting older and the recent photos are not, and should not be, a cause for concern.”
Michael Jordan does not have a secret illness and is in good health, it has been confirmed
“He has no problems at all. Like everyone else, we should do a bit more exercise and Mike is enjoying the life he has created for himself, but he doesn’t have any hidden illnesses.”
Jordan is said to be “embarrassed” by the viral reaction to his appearance in Monaco this week and vows to look healthier the next time he makes a public appearance.
The source continued: ‘He’s heard fans’ concerns and appreciates them, but he’s also a little embarrassed that people see him this way.
“He doesn’t want people to remember him as someone who is sick, down and defeated. The next time we see him he will be radically different and he will look much better; he will recover.”
Jordan, considered by many to be the greatest basketball player of all time, retired more than two decades ago after ending his iconic career.
However, the Monaco photo is not the first in which her eyes have caused concern.
Fans also noticed Jordan’s yellow eyes in the hit documentary series The Last Dance, which chronicles the story of the legendary Chicago Bulls team he inspired to win six NBA titles.
Michael Jordan sparked fears for his health with a worrying photo at Monaco’s Stade Louis-II
Fans expressed concern about Jordan’s drinking habits in the comments section of Bleacher Report.
Other photos of Jordan show him drinking a glass of wine while watching the football game.
The Bulls great was interviewed for the Netflix show and regularly appeared with a yellow tint to his eyes, prompting fans to claim he was suffering from jaundice, or perhaps something more serious.
“Michael Jordan isn’t always out there or on our TV screens, so we haven’t seen him age,” the source added. “The most times people see him is when his best moments are shown, or we see his crying face that has become one of the biggest memes of all time.
‘So when we see it the way we just saw it, it’s very disconcerting because we have to reason that our hero is getting older, which means we’re getting older, too.
‘Everyone sees Charles Barkley and Shaq all the time, and they’ve both aged considerably, but because we see them all the time, it’s easier to reason about the changes that have occurred in them.’
Jordan doesn’t often discuss his fondness for alcohol and tobacco, but once revealed: “I often dream that I’m a hard-drinking alcoholic and I can’t stop drinking and I’m embarrassed. And I’m going to lose everything. I wake up from that dream in a sweat.”
Jordan is photographed with his wife Yvette on the fifth anniversary of his tequila brand Cincoro
He has also spoken out about the drinking and drug culture that surrounded him while playing in the NBA.
During The Last Dance, he revealed: ‘I had an event, preseason, I think we were in Peoria. It was at a hotel, so I was trying to find my teammates. So I started knocking on doors. I got to a door, and I knocked on the door, and I could hear someone say, “shh, there’s someone outside.” And then you hear a deep voice, someone says, “who is it?” I said “MJ.”
“… Then they opened the door. I walked in and pretty much the whole crew was there. It was stuff I’d never seen in my life when I was a kid. You had your lines (of cocaine) over here, you had your marijuana smokers over here, you had your women over here.
“The first thing I said was, ‘Look, man, I’m leaving. ‘ All I could think was that if they came and raided this place right now, I’d be just as guilty as everyone else in this room. And from that point on, I was pretty much on my own.”
