While Michael Jordan was at the height of his basketball career, he married his first wife Juanita Vanoy. However, 12 years later, she filed for divorce after having him followed by a private investigator for four years, per The New York Post. The P.I. surveilled Jordan around Chicago and Florida, catching him in dalliances with six different women.
Later that year, it was revealed that Jordan sued a woman named Karla Knafel for allegedly trying to extort him out of $5 million to keep her from talking about their relationship 10 years prior, CNN reported. In documents related to the suit, Jordan admitted to the affair and paid her a quarter of a million dollars to keep quiet, but she then attempted to pry more money out of him.
By the time of the suit, Vanoy had withdrawn the divorce petition and was still together with her husband. A month later, Knafel, who claimed her daughter was Jordan’s, countersued, per ESPN. The suit proclaimed, “It was Jordan who initially offered to pay her $5 million in the spring of 1991 for her agreement not to file a public paternity proceeding and for keeping their sexual relationship publicly confidential.” As reported by Fox News, a judge ultimately dismissed Knafel’s suit, stating that Jordan didn’t owe her any money since her child was not his.
