Larry Miller, chairman of Nike's Jordan Brand, told Sports Illustrated how he killed an 18-year-old boy while part of a rival gang in 1965, and very few people knew about it. Miller joined the Cedar Avenue gang in West Philadelphia when he was 13 years old, regretting that the event transformed his life from one of the notable achievers to a complete drunkard.
While at the age of 16, he vowed to avenge the death of his friend, who a rival gang member killed. After getting drunk, he and three friends shot Edward White in the chest on September 30, 1965.
After the killing, Miller was arrested and sentenced to prison. Despite scaling up the NBA company ladder, he kept his offense a secret from his children, friends, and acquaintances. He described his decision to open up about his past as extremely difficult and admitted his actions were eating him up inside because the incident happened for no reason.
"Because for years, I ran from this. I tried to hide this and hope that people didn't find out about it," he said.
Sports Illustrated reports only finding a printout of the Philadelphia daily newspaper from October 2, 1965, with the headline, "16-year-old admits killing rival gang member."
Now he feels free and believes the story will inspire youths to re-evaluate their unlawful behaviors and enable them to lead productive lives.
"A person's mistake or the worst mistake that they made in their life shouldn't control what happens with the rest of your life," he said.
Larry Miller career
He served as executive and president in his previous roles at Kraft Foods, Campbell Soup, and the Portland Trail Blazers professional team. Nike hired Miller in 1997, and he is now managing Nike basketball, Converse, and Jordan Brand daily operations.
He graduated from Temple University while in prison, later he was offered a job at an accounting firm. In the interview, he said he was never secretive about his prison record in his job applications, but when the company learned about his records, they withdrew the offer. It is then that he vowed never to mention his past in the future.
However, before the interview, he disclosed the incident to NBA commissioner Adam Silver and basketball star Michael Jordan, who was very supportive.
The upcoming memoir
His revelation comes when he plans to launch his memoir next year in collaboration with his eldest daughter in a book titled Jump: My Secret Journey from Street to Boardroom. The book will describe his experiences as a prisoner charged for various offenses, including imprisonment as a juvenile.
"It is an incredible story of second chances," Nike told BBC in a statement.
