When unveiling that he killed a man when he was 16 years old, the ex-Portland Trail Blazers president admits that he struggles with the guilty feeling as the shooting 'was for no reason at all.'
- Oct 14, 2021
AceShowbiz - Larry Miller is sharing his darkest secret with the public. The ex-Portland Trail Blazers president and current Jordan Brand chairman unveiled that he once killed a man after keeping it a secret for over 50 years.
The 67-year-old detailed the September 1965 incident in a new interview with Sports Illustrated published on Wednesday, October 13. When he was 16 years old, he shot and killed an 18-year-old man named Edward White. At the time, he and other members of West Philadelphia's Cedar Avenue gang went out looking for retribution after one of their own had been killed in a fight by the 53rd and Pine gang. Following the shooting, he ended up spending many years behind bars until he was 30 years old.
Expressing his deep regret during the confessional interview, Larry said, "What makes it even more difficult for me, because it was for no reason at all. I mean, there was no valid reason for this to happen. And that's the thing that I really struggle with and that's -- you know, it's the thing that I think about every day." He added, "It's like, I did this, and to someone who -- it was no reason to do it. And that's the part that really bothers me."
"We were all drunk," Larry told the publication of the incident. "I was in a haze. Once it kind of set in, I was like, 'Oh, s**t, what have I done?' It took years for me to understand the real impact of what I had done."
Larry explained that "if [he] could go back and undo it, [he] would absolutely do that." He went on to add, "[But] I can't. So all I can do is try to do what I can to help other people and try to maybe prevent this from happening to someone else."
Before the interview was published, Larry told his friends and colleagues including Nike founder Phil Knight, NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Michael Jordan, whom Larry said he was especially nervous to tell. "I was definitely nervous about sharing with him, just because I have so much respect and love for MJ," he said of telling the NBA legend.
However, Larry shared that he has been "blown away by how positive the response" he received after opening up. He added that sharing his deepest secret has been a "freeing exercise." He admitted, "I feel the freedom now to be me."
After unveiling his murder case, Larry hopes his story will provide inspiration for anyone who has been in prison and a lesson for how the society perceives them. "It's really about making sure that people understand that formerly incarcerated people can make a contribution. And that 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 shared.
