Fans are worried for the long-term health of the legendary Michael Jordan as the Chicago Bulls star appeared to have yellow eyes at a Champions League game on September 19 but this is no new thing for the six-time champion.
The 61-year-old checked into the Stade Louis-II to watch Monaco take on Barcelona in the new-look Champions League but the attention quickly turned away from the pitch and to his eyes, which seem to have a yellow tint to them instead of the typical white.
It sparked rumors and concern that he could have liver problems, although nothing has been confirmed to the public, before his health was quickly stressed to be in good nick from one of his friends.
“Mike is OK. He goes to the doctor regularly, and there’s nothing to worry about,” an insider told TheDailyMail.com. “The recent pictures shouldn’t cause concern.
“There is nothing wrong with him. Like anyone else, a little more exercise would be good, but Mike is enjoying life and has no health problems.”
It’s important to note that Jordans yellow eyes are far from new too. A quick search of his Wikipedia shows an image of the star with a yellow tint to his eyes as far back as 2014 so this has been going on for at least a decade for the 14-time NBA All-Star.
Additionally, in his iconic The Last Dance documentary, centered around his final NBA championship success, his eyes already had the yellowish colour in front of the Netflix cameras.
Fans also voiced their concerns at the time of the release of the 2020 biographical TV show, calling for him to be checked although he seems to be in good health as per the words of his friend.
“He appreciates the concern from fans,” the source added to TheDailyMail.com. “But is a bit embarrassed by how people are seeing him.
“He doesn’t want to be remembered as looking sick or unwell. The next time people see him, he’ll look much better.”
Why do people have yellow eyes?
Eyes can turn yellow due to a condition called jaundice, which occurs when there’s a buildup of bilirubin, a yellow pigment produced by the breakdown of red blood cells.
Normally, the liver processes bilirubin, but if the liver is damaged or the bile ducts are blocked (from liver diseases, hepatitis, or gallstones), excess bilirubin accumulates in the blood.
This causes the yellowing of the skin and eyes, as seen in conditions like liver disease or hemolytic anemia, and Dr. Val Phua from Singapore suggested this could be the case with Jordan.
“Yellow eyes should not be ignored,” Dr. Val Phua told VICE. “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 discoloured 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 discolouration like a pinguecula. Yellowish discolouration of the eyes may be more obvious in a dark-skinned individual compared with someone who is fair-skinned.”
