{"id":1528638,"date":"2022-09-10T12:01:39","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T16:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1528638"},"modified":"2022-09-10T12:01:40","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T16:01:40","slug":"breaking-michael-jordan-washington-wizards-story-was-secretive-watergate-and-even-mj-impressed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/breaking-michael-jordan-washington-wizards-story-was-secretive-watergate-and-even-mj-impressed\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking the Michael Jordan to the Washington Wizards Story was as Secretive as Watergate, and Even MJ Was Impressed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A shadowy figure in a parking garage telling Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein to follow the money brought the Watergate scandal to light and brought down an American President. Nearly 30 years later, another intrepid Washington Post\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/tag\/sports-media\/\">reporter<\/a>\u00a0broke a story surrounded by incredible secrecy, and it involved a lot of the same Beltway drama that Woodward and Bernstein dealt with in \u201972. It even included a shadowy, Deep Throat-like source. Only this time, the person at the center of the story wasn\u2019t Richard Nixon. It was\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/tag\/michael-jordan\/\">Michael Jordan<\/a>. And when the story of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/michael-jordan-felt-used-wizards-surprised-got-fired\/\">Jordan returning to the NBA<\/a>\u00a0was all over, even the GOAT was impressed that Steve Wyche got to the bottom of the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-michael-jordan-returned-to-the-nba-with-the-washington-wizards-in-2000\"><strong>Michael Jordan returned to the NBA with the Washington Wizards in 2000<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">On this day in 2000, Michael Jordan returns to the NBA, but not as a player.<br><br>Jordan joined the Washington Wizards as part-owner and President of Basketball Operations. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/KsHZhnUYj4\">pic.twitter.com\/KsHZhnUYj4<\/a><\/p>&mdash; The Sporting News (@sportingnews) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sportingnews\/status\/1483793568984707082?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 19, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>As anyone who watched\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/michael-jordan-last-dance-jersey-poised-to-make-3-million-plus-history\/\"><em>The Last Dance<\/em><\/a><em>\u00a0<\/em>remembers, Michael Jordan hung up his high tops after the 1998 NBA Finals. He officially retired (for a second time) on January 13, 1999, as the NBA was about to come back from a lockout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jordan only stayed away from the NBA for a year, though. In January 2000, he surprisingly joined the Washington Wizards as a minority owner and president of basketball operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The story of Michael Jordan returning to the NBA was a huge one and something the player, his people, and the organization were trying to keep under wraps until the deal was complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, then Washington Post NBA reporter (now an NFL Network reporter) Steve Wyche got a tip as to what was going down with the Wizards, and his path to breaking the story was something that could only happen in Washington D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Steve Wyche recently appeared on the NFL Networks\u2019\u00a0<em>The Insiders<\/em>\u00a0with NFL insiders Tom Pelissero,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/nfl-insider-ian-rapoport-explains-how-he-avoided-adam-schefter-like-blowback-breaking-news-dwayne-haskins-tragic-death\/\">Ian Rapoport<\/a>, and Mike Garafolo to discuss breaking sports news stories. On this show, Wyche shared the incredible story of how he became the reporter to break the news that Jordan was returning to the NBA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Steve Wyche shared the amazing story of how he broke the MJ to the Wizards story<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Check out yesterday\u2019s episode of \u2018The Insiders\u2019 with special guest <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wyche89?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@wyche89<\/a> who had a great story about reporting on Michael Jordan and the Wizards \ud83d\udc10 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/195PDgE3Yq\">https:\/\/t.co\/195PDgE3Yq<\/a> via <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/YouTube?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@YouTube<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TomPelissero?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@TomPelissero<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RapSheet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@RapSheet<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MikeGarafolo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@MikeGarafolo<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/NRTVUsajWE\">pic.twitter.com\/NRTVUsajWE<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Andrew Groover (@APGroover) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/APGroover\/status\/1568610133852434432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 10, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>When NFL Network reporter Steve Wyche sat down with his fellow NFL insiders (watch <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/S-XdtmbadPI?t=1069\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a> on YouTube) to discuss the origins of a \u201cscoop,\u201d even they were impressed by the story that followed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wyche recalled the biggest scoop of his career in 2000 while he was with the Washington Post. It started when a trusted Wizards source called him and said, \u201cI was just in a room with some lawyers who are going through paperwork for Michael Jordan to join the Wizards front office.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The young reporter was incredulous that the greatest basketball player of all time was going to \u201ccome out of retirement and work for a franchise that nobody really cares about\u201d in the Wizards. Still, Wyche followed the story and eventually got it confirmed by a Wizards player.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After the confirmation, Wyche took four days to talk to as many people as possible to get all the details right. One of those sources was a person \u201cwith the team\u201d who, in true <em>All the President\u2019s<\/em> Men style, told Wyche he got \u201cone question a day, and if I answer you, you\u2019re wrong, If I don\u2019t answer you, you\u2019re walking down a primrose path.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The source answered that Jordan is not coming back to play. However, when Wyche asked, \u201cis he coming back to be a part owner?\u201d he got radio silence. \u201cIs he coming back to work in the front office?\u201d Silence again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wyche also confirmed through sources at the <a  href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/bill-simmons-stubbornly-refuses-call-golden-state-warriors-dynasty\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Golden State Warriors<\/a> that \u201cJordan\u2019s right-hand man,\u201d Rod Higgins, was coming to Washington as well. Finally, with the story \u201cready to roll,\u201d Wyche brought it to legendary Washington Post sports editor George Solomon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And just like Woodward, Bernstein, and Ben Bradlee brought the Watergate story to Katherine Graham three decades earlier, Wyche and Solomon called the paper\u2019s owner at the time, Katherine\u2019s son Donald, and got the go-ahead to run with it on page A1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Even His Airness was impressed by Wyche\u2019s reporting <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1250\" height=\"703\" src=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Michael-Jordan-Wizards.jpg?w=925&#038;strip=all&#038;quality=89\" alt=\"Washington Wizards owners Abe Pollin (R) and Ted Leonsis (L) pose with basketball legend Michael Jordan in 2000.\" class=\"wp-image-1528640\" \/><figcaption>(L-R) Ted Leonsis, Michael Jordan, Abe Pollin | MARIO TAMA\/AFP via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Steve Wyche says that breaking the Michael Jordan to the Washington Wizards story is the proudest he\u2019s ever been of his reporting in his career. Mostly, he shares, because he pieced it together through so many sources without ever calling Jordan\u2019s agent, David Faulk, or anyone in Jordan\u2019s camp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This allowed him to keep the secret under wraps until he was able to report it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was an incredible reporting job, and, in the end, it even impressed Jordan himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wyche followed up his story with a postscript. He said, \u201c[Jordan] had his opening press conference, and I went up and introduced myself. And he was like, \u2018you\u2019re good.\u2019 That was really, really, good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The whole situation made for a great story, but it wasn\u2019t the end of the story for Jordan and the Wizards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>MJ stayed in the front office for 16 months until the basketball bug got him, and he returned to the NBA court on October 30, 2001, against the New York Knicks.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jordan would go on to play 142 games over two seasons for the Wizards. He averaged 21.2 points, 4.4 assists, and 5.9 rebounds over the course of his Wizards tenure. He retired for good after his final game vs. the Philadelphia 76ers on April 16, 2003.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>All stats courtesy of <\/em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Basketball Reference<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>RELATED:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/michael-jordan-son-marcus-jordan-might-be-dating-scottie-pippen-ex-wife-larsa-pippen-according-bombshell-tmz-report\/\"><strong>Michael Jordan\u2019s Son Marcus Jordan Might Be Dating Scottie Pippen\u2019s Ex-Wife Larsa Pippen, According to Bombshell TMZ Report<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Then-Washington Post reporter Steve Wyche channeled his inner Woodward and Bernstein to break the Michael Jordan to the Wizards story in 2000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":1528640,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4835,236608,4877],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.3 (Yoast SEO v22.9) - 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He excels with his versatile coverage of the NFL and soccer landscape, as well as his expertise breaking down sports media, which stems from his many years downloading podcasts before they were even cool and countless hours spent listening to Mike &amp; The Mad Dog and The Dan Patrick Show, among other programs. As a longtime self-professed sports junkie who even played DII lacrosse at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, Tim loves reading about all the latest sports news every day and considers it a dream to write about sports professionally. He's a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan from Western New York who mistakenly thought, back in the early '90s, that his team would be in the Super Bowl every year. He started following European soccer \u2014 with a Manchester City focus \u2014 in the early 2000s after spending far too much time playing FIFA. 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