Jordan Brand chairman and Philly native Larry Miller reveals his biggest secret in a recent interview
Larry Miller was 16 years old when he killed another teenager. Keeping that secret has haunted him, until now.
Philly native and Jordan Brand chairman Larry Miller revealed a 56-year-old secret when he admitted to killing 18-year-old Edward White in 1965.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Miller said he joined the Cedar Ave. gang in West Philadelphia at 13 years old. He wanted retaliation after a friend was stabbed to death in a fight with the 53rd & Pine gang.
That’s when Miller, 16, carried his .38 caliber gun and went out with a group of friends before shooting the first person he saw on 53rd & Locust. He was unclear if White was a member of the rival gang or had anything to do with his friend’s death.
“We were all drunk,” Miller told SI’s Howard Beck. “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.”
Miller, 72, spent 17 years in juvenile detention centers and prison. He was able to get his degree at age 30 while incarcerated and was released at the same age. Miller then navigated a successful business career and became vice president of Nike Basketball in 1997. He was then appointed to president of the Jordan Brand. He became chairman of the Jordan Brand in 2012 after five years as team president of the Portland Trail Blazers.
Now free of his biggest secret, Miller hopes to use his experience to help the youth.
Working with his daughter, Miller’s book, Jump: My Secret Journey from the Streets to the Boardroom, will be released in January of 2022. The book will include more details of Miller’s gang and prison experience as well as his rise through the business world.