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Former NBA star Michael Jordan has sparked health concerns among fans after he was spotted at a Champions League game on Thursday (September 19).
During the match, in which AS Monaco defeated Barcelona 2-1, the 61-year-old basketball legend was photographed with glassy, orange sclera – the part of the eye that should be white.
On X, Bleacher Report Football posted a photo of Jordan in the stands that received over 17.6 million views and hundreds of comments. “Michael Jordan attends the Monaco vs. Barcelona game,” the caption read.
In the photo, which has now been shared over 3,600 times, the six-time NBA champion smiles in a black Air Jordan Jumpman cap and matching shirt. His eyes appear to be bloodshot and orange-yellow pigmented.
Immediately, fans flocked to the comments section asking if they should be worried about Jordan’s health, with some X-users thinking his eyes were a sign of liver failure.
“The boy’s liver is spoiled,” wrote one blunt person, while another asked, “Does he have jaundice?”
Another concerned fan wrote: “Why the hell is MJ here with jaundice? With eyes like a vampire in Brooklyn.”
“Yellow eyes… the guy could be in trouble,” added a fourth.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, jaundice is a condition that causes yellowing of the whites of the eyes and skin.
“It is caused by a buildup of bilirubin, a yellow chemical in hemoglobin that is produced when the body breaks down red blood cells,” the Cleveland Clinic report says.
Jaundice occurs when the liver cannot process red blood cells efficiently or when the liver is “overworked or damaged,” according to a report from Mount Sinai.
Although jaundice can occur at any age, it poses a serious health risk in older people. Jaundice can be a sign of problems with the liver, pancreas or gallbladder, which could indicate liver disease or a serious infection.
“Yellow eyes should not be ignored because they are a sign that there is more to it. There is literally more to it than meets the eye,” Dr. Val Phua, an ophthalmologist at Eagle Eye Centre Singapore, told VICE in 2020 after the release of Jordan’s The last dance Documentary on Netflix.
“If eye diseases are not treated, they can lead to impaired vision or even blindness.
“His eyes are slightly discolored, which could indicate jaundice, but there also appears to be a slightly raised lesion on the eye, which could indicate a local cause such as a pinguecula causing the discoloration,” Dr. Phua said.
According to the American Optometric Association, pinguecula is an abnormal growth of tissue on the conjunctiva, the clear membrane that covers the white of the eye.
Jordan has not spoken publicly about his eye color or any current health issues.
The Independent has asked the representative of Jordan for comment.
