Basketball fans have been left fearing for the health of NBA legend Michael Jordan after a photo of him in Monaco quickly went viral.
On Thursday, the six-time NBA champion was at the Stade Louis-II with his wife Yvette Prieto to watch Monaco beat Barcelona in the Champions League.
Acknowledging his presence, Bleacher Report posted a picture of Jordan at the game. However, the comment section flagged the former Chicago Bulls star’s worryingly-yellow eyes.
‘Why the hell MJ out here with JAUNDICE tho? Eyes lookin like a Vampire In Brooklyn,’ one fan wrote.
‘Are we surprised? Bro drinks like a fish,’ a second added while a third wrote: ‘His liver: do you know you have 30 minutes?’
Michael Jordan sparked health fears with a worrying photo at Stade Louis-II in Monaco
While some raised their concerns comedically, other fans took a more serious approach to Jordan’s presumed harmful lifestyle.
‘Man got all the girls money fame and accomplishments anyone could ask for yet is still on the path to an early death. Sucks,’ one fan said.
‘As someone who grew up in a family full of alcoholism and drug abuse, and someone who idolized this man, I know what those eyes mean,’ wrote another. ‘This makes me sad, man.’
It is not the first time that Jordan’s eyes have caused concern, with fans initially sharing their theories after the release of the hugely popular docuseries The Last Dance.
Jordan was interviewed for the Netflix show and appeared regularly with a yellow tint to his eyes, sparking fans to claim that he was suffering from jaundice – or perhaps even something more serious.
Jaundice is often caused by the over-consumption of alcohol, and leads the sufferer’s skin and eyes to turn yellow.
Fans raised their concern over Jordan’s drinking habits in Bleacher Report’s comment section
Other photos of Jordan showed him drinking a glass of wine while watching the soccer game
Jordan was seen enjoying the game with wife Yvette Prieto (second from left) on Thursday
Jordan’s eyes were similar during The Last Dance documentary on Netflix in 2020
In the wake of the release of The Last Dance, Dr Val Phua – an ophthalmologist – told VICE: ‘Yellow eyes should not be ignored because they are a sign of something more going on. There is literally more than meets the eye.
‘Leaving eye conditions untreated includes compromise in vision and even blindness.
‘His eyes are slightly discolored which may point to jaundice, but there seems to also be a slightly raised lesion on the eye, which can point to something local causing the discoloration like a pinguecula.’
Jordan does not regularly comment on his penchant for alcohol and smoking, but did once reveal: ‘A lot of times I’ll dream I’m a bad alcoholic and I can’t stop drinking and embarrassing myself. And I’m going to lose everything. I wake up from that dream in a sweat.’
He has also spoken about the drink and drug culture that surrounded him while playing in the NBA.
During The Last Dance, he revealed: ‘I had one event, preseason, I think we were in Peoria. It was in a hotel, so I’m trying to find my teammates. So I start knocking on doors. I get to this one door, and I knock on the door, and I can hear someone says, “shh, someone’s outside.” And then you hear this deep voice, someone says, “who is it?” I said “MJ.”
Jordan opted for a black T-shirt, matching Air Jordan cap and khaki pants while at the game
Jordan is pictured with his wife Yvette at the five-year anniversary of his tequila brand Cincoro
For many years, Jordan has been renowned for his cigar smoking and alcohol drinking
Jordan sprays champagne over team-mate Dennis Rodman after winning the NBA title
A man holds his camera on Jordan while on a FaceTime call during the game on Thursday night
“… So they open up the door. I walk in, and practically the whole team was in there. And it was like, things I’ve never seen in my life as a young kid. You got your lines [of cocaine] over here, you got your weed smokers over here, you got your women over here.
‘So the first thing I said, “Look man, I’m out.” Because all I could think about was if they come and raid this place, right about now, I’m just as guilty as everybody else that’s in this room. And from that point on, I was more or less on my own.’
The concerning photo from Monaco this week comes after tales of Jordan’s drinking habits surfaced over the years.
In Roland Lazenby’s book ‘Michael Jordan: The Life,’ the author described how the six-time NBA Finals MVP would drink beers and start insulting Jerry Krause on the team bus.
In ‘Blood on the Horns,’ Lazenby mentioned how Jordan and his Chicago teammates would take down five beers and light a cigar in the first hour of games.
In a recent appearance on The Dan LeBatard Show, Jordan’s former running mate Scottie Pippen admitted to having the occasional locker room brew with him.
‘I’ve had a few drinks during the exhibition season,’ the legendary forward said. ‘You know, me and Michael, we tested the waters a few times when we had some exhibition games.
Scottie Pippen admitted that he and Jordan used to drink beers before exhibition games
Jordan has been known to enjoy beers and cigars throughout his six-title NBA career
‘We knew we weren’t playing too many minutes, so we may have a beer or two in the locker room before we go out,’ Pippen added.
Pippen added that they only drank during low-stake games when they played less.
In 2019, Jordan launched Cincoro – a tequila brand with four other NBA owners.
Jordan’s venture into the liquor business with Emilia Fazzalari and Wyc Grousbeck of the Boston Celtics, Jeanie Buss of the Los Angeles Lakers, and Wes Edens of the Milwaukee Bucks.