Long before Michael Jordan became a global icon during his tenure with the Chicago Bulls, he was a rising star at Emsley A. Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina. Jordan still has a lot of love for all those who helped him in any way on his journey, and that was on display recently.
Ms. Etta was a transportation coordinator at Laney and is currently in hospice care at Lower Cape Fear LifeCare in Wilmington. She had often brought up her wish to hug Jordan one last time when reflecting on her memories and favorite students from the school. The staff’s initial efforts to reach the Hall of Famer failed, but then one of them got the shock of their life.
Wendy, a LifeCare social worker, received a call from an unknown number and was asked, “Is this Ms. Etta?” The caller was Jordan, and she rushed over from her home to Ms. Etta’s so that the teacher and student could connect on FaceTime.
“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.”
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That was beautiful. Ms. Etta’s family will never forget the gesture.
Jordan had graduated from Laney all the way back in 1981. While he was infamously left off the varsity team as a sophomore, he does his part in helping out his high school.
In 2019, Jordan donated $1.1 million to Laney, according to WECT. Half of that went to the athletics department, while the other could be used for projects of the school’s choosing. Jordan Brand also paid to refurbish the gymnasium at Laney in 2015. It was, of course, at that gym that he took the first steps towards greatness.
Jordan made the varsity team as a junior and put up exceptional averages of 26.8 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 10.1 assists per game in his senior year. He was named a McDonald’s All-American in 1981 and then headed off to the University of North Carolina.
Jordan won the national title with the Tar Heels in 1982, and he’d do a whole lot of winning when he got to the NBA. The Bulls selected Jordan with the third pick in the 1984 NBA Draft, and by the time he’d walked away from the game, he was regarded as the greatest ever.
Over 15 seasons, Jordan won six titles, six Finals MVPs, five MVPs, one DPOY, and 10 scoring titles. He would prove to be successful off the court as well, becoming a billionaire in 2014.
You’d always hope that when someone hits such heights, they’d try to give back to the community, and Jordan, who was raised in Wilmington, has. He opened his fourth health clinic for uninsured patients in North Carolina in 2025. Previously, the 63-year-old had donated $2 million to assist residents of the Carolinas after Hurricane Florence devastated the area in 2018.
