Michael Jordan’s appearance in Monaco sparked a surge of concern among fans and doctors alike when his eyes appeared abnormally yellow.
Speculation about the 61-year-old sporting legend’s eyes first swirled in 2003, but concern was ramped up when the issue was was made particularly visible in his 2020 biographical Netflix series The Last Dance.
At his recent appearance at a home football match in Monaco against Barcelona, fans noticed an even more pronounced yellow hue to his eyes
The icon has not publicly addressed the worrisome hue, leaving fans to speculate widely about possible causes, including jaundice linked to liver damage wrought by alcohol abuse or elevated melanin pigment on the surface of the eye.
And these theories aren’t unfounded, doctors told DailyMail.com.
Michael Jordan appeared in Monaco this week with noticeably yellow eyes, sparking fan speculation that he could be dealing with potentially severe liver damage
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Bhavin Shah, an optometrist based in London, told DailyMail.com that the discoloration could be a harmless condition more common in darker skinned individuals as they age.
He said: ‘I can’t tell you for sure unless I examine him, but the most common reason is a natural pigmentation on the conjunctiva, the front surface of the eye, [which] can give a yellow appearance.’
Jordan may have complexion-associated melanosis (CAM), also called ethnic melanosis. CAM typically affects the edge of the cornea (the clear part of the eye).
The pigmentation is flat and can spread over a large part of the eye’s surface. The splotches tend to grow as a person ages and affect both eyes equally, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Other doctors have echoed this speculation.
Dr Talin Amadian, an optometrist in Los Angeles, told DailyMail.com: ‘There could be some kind of a pigmentation on the surface of the eye and its more prominent in individuals with darker skin.’
But other doctors aren’t so confident that Jordan’s eye condition is benign.
Pictured in 2001, Jordan’s eyes have begun to show yellow hues. Doctors told DailyMail.com that the cause is likely a harmless result of melanin pigment in the outer covering of the eye
Jordan has remained tight-lipped about his history of alcohol use except for revealing a recurring dream he had earlier in his career in which he was ‘a bad alcoholic and I can’t stop drinking and embarrassing myself… I wake up from that dream in a sweat.’
Yellowing eyes could indicate jaundice, a result of damage to the liver possibly caused by alcohol misuse.
The liver plays a crucial role in eliminating bilirubin from the body, a yellowish substance produced as part of the body’s normal digestion process.
As bilirubin accumulates in the bloodstream, causing a yellowing of the skin and eyes.
Dr Joel Kopelman, a plastic surgeon in New York who often performs eye reconstruction surgeries, told DailyMail.com: ‘This is most commonly associated with liver conditions such as hepatitis, cirrhosis, or bile duct obstructions.
‘It’s possible that this yellowing could be linked to an issue with his liver’s ability to properly process bilirubin, but it could also be due to other factors like certain medications or blood disorders.’
Jordan, pictured in 1992, did not have yellow splotches on his eyes as he does now
Jaundice typically involves a more uniform yellowing of the eye. But racial melanosis causes pigmented splotches on the clear covering of the white part of the eye, while other parts remain white.
And doctors pointed out that liver damage doesn’t stop with jaundice. It causes fatigue, weight loss, liver scarring, and potentially life-threatening organ failure.
Dr Amadian said: This has been in the public eye since the 2000s. Anything of major concern that would cause this, there would be other things to follow.
She added: ‘We can talk about gallstones, liver conditions, alcohol and the way that it’s processed.
‘However, given it’s longstanding for this amount of time, and that he has the resources to deal with any medical condition, if it were a liver issue, it would have been treated by now.’
