Jordan and wife try to save marriage

Basketball superstar Michael Jordan and his wife of 12 years, Juanita, have decided to try to save their marriage and she has withdrawn her divorce petition, the couple said in a joint statement released on Monday.

"We have decided to attempt a reconciliation and our efforts to do so would be greatly enhanced if the privacy of our personal lives is respected," said the one-sentence statement released by Jordan's attorney.

Juanita Jordan, 42, cited irreconcilable differences in seeking a divorce from Jordan, 38, who is averaging more than 25 points a game in his second successful comeback in the National Basketball Association (NBA), this time with the Washington Wizards.

The couple, who were married in Las Vegas in 1989, have three children.

In her divorce petition, which was dismissed by a court in Lake County, Illinois, on Monday, Juanita Jordan sought custody of their three children, possession of their 25,000-square-foot (2,300-square-metre) house in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, an "equitable" share of their marital property, and unspecified alimony payments.

Jordan's wealth, earned mostly from basketball and endorsements, was estimated at nearly $400 million last year by Fortune magazine, which ranked him 13th on a list of the nation's richest people under 40.

Much like his first basketball comeback in 1993, Jordan's return to the court this season after two years away has resurrected his star quality -- and potential endorsement earnings.

When he last retired from the sport in 1998 after leading the Chicago Bulls to their sixth championship in eight seasons, Jordan said he planned on spending more time with his family and even to join a carpool to drive his children to school.

But he bought a reported $50 million stake in the company that controls the Wizards and the National Hockey League's Washington Capitals. Jordan was often away from home as he presided over the basketball franchise and then spent more time on the road as he resumed playing this season.

He resigned as Wizards' president of basketball operations when he resumed playing to conform with league rules and said at the time he would divest himself of his ownership share.

Jordan, who captured five league Most Valuable Player awards and six Finals MVP awards with the Bulls, is donating this season's salary to relief efforts for victims of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.

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