"They saw Mike and threw us out"- When Michael Jordan was thrown out of his neighbor's swimming pool for being African American

Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan is widely regarded as one of the most beloved athletes of all time. However, things were much different for Jordan before his rise to fame, as he had to deal with racial discrimination growing up.

Jordan was born in Brooklyn, New York, but was raised in Wilmington, North Carolina. As a child, Jordan participated in multiple sports, including baseball. Through baseball, Jordan formed a close friendship with his neighbor and schoolmate, David Bridgers. Jordan and Bridgers regularly hung out together, going for bicycle rides and traveling around town.

On one occasion, the two friends got involved in an unfortunate situation. That came after they opted to swim in their neighbors’ swimming pool while they were supposedly out of town. However, it turned out that the neighbors were still home and ended up catching Jordan and Bridgers. They then threw them out in a way that signaled racial discrimination due to Jordan being African American.

In his book “Michael Jordan: The Life,” author Roland Lazenby summarized Bridgers’ recounting of the story:

“One sizzling afternoon before Michael’s fear of swimming took hold, they snuck into a neighbor’s backyard to steal a dip in the pool while they thought the neighbors were away.

"The people caught the boys in the water and ordered them out, but in such a way that both kids could tell there was a racial motivation involved,” Lazenby wrote.

He continued:

“‘They saw Mike and threw us out. The rest of the bike ride, he was very quiet. I asked him if he knew why they threw us out. He said yes. I asked if it bothered him. He said no. Then he just smiled. I’ll never forget it. He said, ‘I got cooled off enough. How about you?’”

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David Bridgers on how Michael Jordan taught him how to deal with prejudice

Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan

According to David Bridgers, he also faced discrimination growing up for hanging out with Michael Jordan, due to Jordan being African American. That came as people would often call him derogatory names, but Bridgers said that Jordan taught him how to deal with prejudice:

“Mike taught me a lot about dealing with prejudice,” Bridgers said. I got called ni**er-lover and white trash, but he showed me how to ignore it. Up at Chapel Hill one time, I was visiting Mike, and a fight broke out along racial lines. He got me out of there quick.

"He always said, ‘Don't worry about race unless somebody slaps you in the face.’ He's always been so positive. Every time I see him, it's a natural high.”