The legendary Tiger Woods was once told by his lawyer to stay away from Michael Jordan in 1996.
Very few personalities came close to matching Michael Jordan's popularity in the 1990s, but if someone can claim they were on a similar level, it's Tiger Woods. The golfing prodigy was a phenomenon in the sports world, dominating and becoming No. 1 in the world before the age of 22. As such, both fame and riches came his way, and with that came the attention of his similarly successful peers.
Michael Jordan at this point was very much in the process of becoming the GOAT, en route to his 2nd three-peat with the Chicago Bulls. And he hung out with Tiger Woods, with Dennis Rodman revealed that the three would spend time together away from their respective sports.
Michael Jordan had the utmost respect for Woods, things he's said about him have shown as much. But the people around Tiger didn't think MJ was good for him, with the book Tiger Woods by Jeff Benedict telling an interesting story.
“There isn’t anything else that Michael is good at doing. Nothing! And he’s had too many years of being out there in public. So he’s going to try to use you.”
These words came from John Merchant, who was Woods' lawyer. He seemingly thought that MJ would use Woods for his benefit if they interacted too much. It's safe to say that based on things Tiger himself has said, that Merchant was completely wrong about this.
Michael Jordan Had Some Advice For Tiger Woods When The Golfing Star Was Struggling
Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods' relationship hasn't been great throughout, the two have had their fair share of ups and downs. But when Tiger was struggling, MJ had some sound advice for him.
“He has … no companion,” Jordan said last year. “He has to find that happiness within his life, that’s the thing that worries me. I don’t know if he can find that type of happiness. He’s gonna have to trust somebody.”
The sort of things that athletes at the top of their game have to deal with are not things normal people can comprehend. There are some struggles that only Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods can understand. And while it is lonely at the top, everyone needs people to rely on from time to time. Michael Jordan may not have been a saint, but no one can deny that his relationship with Tiger Woods went far beyond 'using him.'
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