Michael Jordan’s appearance in Monaco sparked a wave of concern among fans and doctors when his eyes appeared abnormally yellow.
Speculation about the 61-year-old sporting legend’s eyes first surfaced in 2003, but concerns grew when the issue became particularly prominent in his 2020 Netflix biopic series, The Last Dance.
In his recent appearance at a home football match in Monaco against Barcelona, fans noticed an even more pronounced yellow hue to his eyes.
The icon has not publicly addressed the concerning hue, leaving fans to widely speculate about possible causes, including jaundice related to liver damage caused by alcohol abuse or elevated melanin pigment on the surface of the eye.
And these theories are not unfounded, doctors told DailyMail.com.
Michael Jordan appeared in Monaco this week with visibly yellow eyes, sparking speculation among fans that he could be dealing with potentially serious liver damage.
Bhavin Shah, a London-based optometrist, told DailyMail.com that discolouration could be a harmless condition more common in darker-skinned people as they age.
He said: “I can’t say for sure unless I examine it, but the most common reason is a natural pigmentation in the conjunctiva, the front surface of the eye, (which) can give it a yellow appearance.”
Jordan may have complexion-associated melanosis (CAM), also called ethnic melanosis. CAM usually affects the edge of the cornea (the clear part of the eye).
The pigmentation is flat and can extend across much of the eye’s surface. The spots tend to grow larger as a person ages and affect both eyes equally, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Other doctors have echoed this speculation.
Dr Talin Amadian, an optometrist in Los Angeles, told DailyMail.com: “There could be some pigmentation on the surface of the eye and it is more prominent in people with darker skin.”
But other doctors aren’t so sure Jordan’s eye condition is benign.
In the 2001 photograph, Jordan’s eyes have begun to show yellowish tones. Doctors told DailyMail.com that the cause is likely a harmless result of the melanin pigment in the outer layer of the eye.
Jordan has remained silent about his drinking history, except to reveal a recurring dream he had early in his career in which he was “a bad alcoholic and I couldn’t stop drinking and being ashamed… I wake up from that dream in a sweat.”
Yellowish eyes could indicate jaundice, a result of liver damage possibly caused by alcohol abuse.
The liver plays a crucial role in removing bilirubin from the body, a yellowish substance that is produced as part of the body’s normal digestion process.
As bilirubin builds up in the bloodstream, it causes a yellowish discoloration of the skin and eyes.
Dr Joel Kopelman, a New York plastic surgeon who often performs eye reconstruction surgeries, told DailyMail.com: ‘This is most commonly associated with liver conditions such as hepatitis, cirrhosis or bile duct obstructions.
‘This yellowish color may be related to a problem with your liver’s ability to properly process bilirubin, but it could also be due to other factors such as certain medications or blood disorders.’
Jordan, photographed in 1992, did not have yellow spots on his eyes as he does now.
Jaundice usually involves a more uniform yellowing of the eye, but racial melanosis causes pigmented spots on the clear layer of the white part of the eye, while the other parts remain white.
Doctors said liver damage is not limited to jaundice, but also causes fatigue, weight loss, liver scarring and potentially life-threatening organ failure.
Dr Amadian said: This has been in the public eye since the 2000s. If there was a serious problem that could cause this, there would be other causes that would follow.
He added: ‘We can talk about gallstones, liver disease, alcohol and the way it is processed.
“However, since it’s been so long and he has the resources to deal with any medical condition, if it was a liver problem, it would have already been treated.”