As Usual, Bulls Are Backing Up Jordan : Gambling: General Manager Krause says betting is player’s business. NBA looking into situation.

On the Michael Jordan watch, it was another day, another controversy, more stonewalling.

Jordan, alleged to have lost golf bets totaling $1.252 million to San Diego businessman Richard Esquinas, was sighted driving into the Bulls’ practice facility at Deerfield, Ill., Thursday at a high rate of speed.

In New York, Brian McIntyre, NBA vice president of public relations, said the league was taking a closer look at the claims made by Esquinas in his just-released book, “Michael & Me: Our Gambling Addiction . . . My Cry For Help.�

Esquinas, 38, the former general manager of the San Diego Sports Arena, alleged that he and Jordan wagered hundreds of thousands of dollars during their four-year relationship.

“I wouldn’t characterize it as a formal investigation, but we’re looking into it,� McIntyre said.

In the Chicago suburbs, the Bulls wanted no part of any probe.

The press wasn’t allowed into the practice, or even to see the court until the session was over and Jordan, who refuses to talk to reporters, had left.

Bull stars Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant tried to leave as the press entered, but were ordered back by Coach Phil Jackson, the Bulls having already been fined $25,000 by the NBA for failing to make their players available.

Grant and Pippen kept going.

“This is bull . . . , “ Pippen said.

Chicago General Manager Jerry Krause was left to speak for the organization. He said he does not plan to take action against Jordan or to talk to him about the story.

“First of all, I have no knowledge of it, OK?� Krause said. “I have no information regarding what’s been going on. I have no knowledge of the book. I have no knowledge of anything.

“Second of all, it’s Michael’s private business. All we have is some newspaper report that says something. . . . I haven’t asked Michael about it because it’s his private business.

“We’ve got to win a basketball game tomorrow night. That’s our main objective. We have no other objectives other than to win tomorrow night and go on from there. We have to have a total, sole purpose tomorrow and that’s to win a basketball game. And we can’t worry about any other distractions right now.

“Will it be discussed? I’m sure it will come up some time. I’m sure something will be said, OK? The time frame on it--I can’t tell you what the time frame is.�

Actually, Jackson reportedly broached the subject at a team meeting before Thursday’s workout. According to center Scott Williams, Jordan merely shrugged when Jackson raised the topic.

Meanwhile, the Chicago-based law firm of Schiff, Hardin & Waite issued a statement Thursday regarding the book’s claim that the company, on behalf of Jordan, sent two separate cashier’s checks for $100,000 to Esquinas, on March 26, 1993, and again May 27, 1993. Cover letters written by firm member Wayne A. McCoy were also sent.

Jordan’s name did not appear on the cashier’s checks or on the cover letters.

“As a matter of professional ethics, this firm respects the privacy and confidentiality of its clients and will not comment upon any client or matter,� read the statement.

McCoy was unavailable for comment.

Esquinas has said that the cashier’s checks were part of Jordan’s negotiated payment settlement. According to Esquinas, Jordan originally owed him $1.252 million. The debt was later reduced to $902,000 and the two men eventually agreed to a $300,000 settlement.

The Bulls stayed in New York Wednesday night after their Game 5 victory over the Knicks.

Jordan and his teammates learned of the story reading newspaper reports on the bus to the airport Thursday morning.

“All I saw was something early (Thursday) morning in a newspaper,� Krause said. “Most of us slept in the airplane coming home. It was a very long night (Wednesday) night.�

Thursday turned out to be a very long day, too.

“I think it’s getting to the point now where (Jordan) is getting criticized a little too much,� backup center Will Perdue said. “But yet, I’m not particularly sure why whoever wrote the book waited until this time to let it be known, so it’s obvious he’s doing whatever he can to get the most publicity out of it.

“I mean, whenever something like that comes out, you wonder if it’s true, even when you’re walking through the grocery store and you see something in the National Enquirer.

“It’s just a situation where he’s a grown man and he can handle the situation himself and if he feels he has a problem, that’s something he has to deal with.

“I think the only thing (the controversy) has taken out of him is maybe his personality a little bit because he’s kind of closed up, not only to the press but to his teammates a little bit,� Perdue said. “Basically, he just goes out and plays the game and leaves it at that.

“I think (gambling) is considered an addiction, but before I pass any judgment, you got to talk to him about it and see what he has to say. We feel if it gets to that point, then I’m sure we’ll sit down and have a closed-door session. But right now, we got one thing on our mind and one thing only and we’ll deal with that and, if necessary, we’ll deal with Michael if it is considered a problem, we’ll deal with it after the season’s over.�

Reaction in the business world to Jordan’s alleged million-dollar golf gambling was mixed. Sports marketers remain unconvinced that Jordan’s unique status as one of the world’s highest-paid product endorsers is in any jeopardy.

“I think it’ll make the papers and then be gone,� said David Burns, president of Chicago-based Burns Sports Celebrity Service. “In fact, there may be a fan backlash to all this that elevates him to even more of a hero.�

Burns said that Jordan’s endorsement contracts--with such consumer giants as Nike and Gatorade--are all multiyear deals. Because Jordan hasn’t been arrested for anything, or specifically accused of any crimes, it would be very difficult for any sponsors to suddenly drop him, he said.

But Burns did note that all the negative publicity could move Jordan to retire early.

If he did leave the game, that could severely harm his status as a product endorser, said Alan Friedman, editor of the Chicago-based newsletter, Team Marketing Report.

“If he retires, he loses his platform,� Friedman said. “He won’t have the national exposure that he has now.�

And the gambling accusations could make it much more difficult for Jordan to sign such large contracts with future advertisers, Friedman added.

Still, Friedman said he doesn’t think Jordan will be greatly harmed by the gambling charges.

“If we can accept politicians who are felons, we can accept athletes who haven’t done anything illegal.�

Nor are any current sponsors likely to leave Jordan, he said.

“The type of companies that he’s involved with don’t get cold feet,� Friedman said. “And heck, in Chicago nobody cares what he does--as long as he scores.�

Nike, the athletic-shoe company whose ads featuring Jordan turned the Bull guard into a multimedia star, to say nothing of a millionaire, rushed to the aid of their prize property.

“I don’t think we should have to be in a position to defend Michael Jordan to anybody,� Nike public relations manager Dusty Kidd told the Associated Press. “I think Michael Jordan defends himself, day in and day out, both on the court and off it.

“He is a great athlete and a great human being who is being attacked by people who are using him to get publicity for whatever reason.�

Added Kidd: “If he wants to bet whatever sums he bets, that’s up to him, and that’s in no way to suggest I believe whatever’s been written.�

Times staff writers Scott Howard-Cooper and Bruce Horovitz contributed to this story.

* BETTING

Michael Jordan’s penchant for high-stakes games was well known throughout San Diego County. C10

* GAME 6

The New York Knicks face elimination in the Eastern Conference finals. C10