Wizard Jordan returns to sport…as club owner

“I don’t get to play. I don’t get to wear a Wizards’uniform,” Jordan told a packed news conference. “But I will have influence with the players who wear the uniform… I’m going to try to have my imprint and footprints all over this place.”

Jordan becomes only the third minority black owner in the NBA, joining Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers and Edward and Bettiann Gardner of the Bulls.

“It’s going to show our children what it means to be an executive, a role model,” Mayor Anthony Williams of the District of Columbia. “It really issimply going to electrify our city.”

Jordan attempted to become the League’s first black majority owner last year when he negotiated with the Charlotte Hornets, but the deal fell through.

Jordan said the Wizards deal requires an out-of-pocket investment, but would not elaborate what percentage of the team he will own.

One of his new partners, Wizards minority owner Ted Leonsis said: “It’s obviously sizable enough that he’s here.”

Jordan also will have an ownership stake in the Washington capital’s professional ice hockey team, which Leonsis owns.

Wizards, a moribund franchise suffering on the court and at the gate, desperately need what Jordan offers.

For now, Jordan said he will retain general manager Wesunseld and coach Gar Heard. Jordan cannot suit up at games — the NBA constitution says players cannot be owners and owners cannot play — but he said he envisions himself practicing with the team.

That same competitiveness was evident to Leonsis, who initiated the negotiations.

“I’dlike to see a player disregard Michael Jordan,” Leonsis said. “Every part of your DNA, when you’re with this man, says this guy knows what it takes to win.”

Wizards players immediately welcomed Jordan’s arrival. Point guard Rod Strickland, who earlier this season said he wanted out of Washington, said he now wants to stay.

Jordan said he will continue to live in Chicago, where he won 10 scoring titles and five MVP awards during his 13-year career. His family lives there, and he said he will commute to Washington.