Over 40 years ago, NBA legend Michael Jordan went to Emsley A. Laney High School in Wilmington, N.C. before carving out an iconic NBA career. He recently reconnected with one of his former teachers from the school who is now in hospice care.
Ms. Etta is a patient the Lower Cape Fear LifeCare hospice center and was one of Jordan’s high school teachers nearly a half-century ago. She recently shared to staff that she wanted to reconnect with Jordan one more time.
It took a few tries to get ahold of him, but Jordan eventually gave a staff member a video call and asked: “Is this Ms. Etta?”
Wendy, the staff member who received the call, drove to Ms. Etta with the phone and the two reconnected. Photos included in the post show Jordan smiling on the other end.
“Wendy was home during this early evening, but she jumped in her car and drove to Ms. Etta’s so they could FaceTime,” the facility wrote. “They laughed, reminisced, picked at each other, and shared a moment that brought tears to everyone in the room. A memory her family will carry with them forever.”
Jordan attended Laney from 1978-1981, famously being cut from the varsity basketball team as a sophomore. He played on the junior varsity team that year before playing on the varsity squad in his junior year.
He’s since maintained a relationship with the school and donated over $1 million to it in 2019. His latest contribution was a heartwarming gesture that surpasses any price tag.
James Parker is a sports writer for Ball Exclusives, follow him on X @TheJames__Parker
