By MONROE ROARK
mroark@thecitizennews.com

In the strictest sense, it's really none of our business whether Michael Jordan gets a divorce. But our celebrity-worshipping society has gone too far beyond that to turn back, I'm afraid.

After all, if Jordan and his wife were splitting $400, it wouldn't be nearly as interesting as it actually is, since there is nearly $400 million to quibble over. And with Jordan being the most recognized athlete on the planet (except for Muhammad Ali), I suppose the story is just too juicy to pass up.

But now we see what could be the first of many stories that propel this civil matter into major tabloid territory, as the New York Post reports of a private eye allegedly tailing Jordan for most of the past four years up until wife Juanita's divorce filing last Friday.

If the details in the Post are true, then we have yet another story of a womanizing athlete. If you're like me, you stopped counting those after about a thousand. But each one emphasizes once again some painful truths that, unfortunately, too many Americans are not willing to face.

Michael Jordan has constantly been challenged in the press for his career choices. First, he retired after three NBA championships to try baseball. I thought to myself, "Why not? He has nothing left to prove in basketball." But he endured a great deal of criticism and ridicule for a decision that had no real effect on anyone else's life, outside of his own family.

Then he returned to the Chicago Bulls and proved what many of us already suspected; that he could come back whenever he wanted and still dominate. As a result, three more championship banners hang in the rafters in Chicago.

After his second retirement, he remained a constant in the public eye, through endorsements, television and movies, celebrity golf tournaments, and partial ownership of the Washington Wizards, until his desire to play basketball once again had to be quenched and he suited up for the Wizards at the start of the season.

I wonder how many people have, like me, been wondering for years how Jordan's whirlwind lifestyle affected his family life. After all, he can never have a normal life. He can't take his kids to the mall or the park like you and me. Can you imagine what would happen if he showed up in one of those places unannounced?

But that's a choice that he made. He knew way back when his star was just beginning to rise, even while still in college, of the possibilities for superstardom. He may not have predicted how high he would go, since he raised the bar to an astronomical level, but he knew it would be far above a normal life.

To his credit, he has kept a clean reputation while dozens of others wade through the criminal court systems and various treatment facilities of this country at any given time. The one blemish, it would seem, is what brought Michael and Juanita Jordan together in the first place.

She reportedly brought a paternity suit against him after becoming pregnant with their first child. He threatened to fight it, then suddenly whisked her away to Las Vegas to be married. One has good reason to be skeptical of a union originating under those circumstances, but they've been together 12 years since then.

These matters really raise more questions than answers, though not about the Jordans, since this whole thing is their own business and doesn't impact our lives one way or the other. I'm also not about to judge them when it's not my place to do so, especially in light of so many public indiscretions thrown about by the media every day. The questions that need to be answered are about our own lives, and those of our families.

The biggest one is this: How important is marriage and family? Many who quickly answer should stop and consider where it ranks in relation to their careers. For many, marriage is all right as long as it's convenient, but don't let it get in the way of that climb up the corporate ladder. There's no telling how many spouses (of either gender) and children litter the landscape in the wake of such pursuits.

With celebrities, the stories of illegitimate children scattered around the country have been well-documented. Hollywood has turned a former stigma into a status symbol. How many times have you heard of a Hollywood breakup and yawned while saying sarcastically, "I just knew those two would be together forever"? Then you laugh for a minute before crying for the children involved.

Another question: How many people spend years in pursuit of money and celebrity and then find themselves, old and alone, longing for what they threw away years earlier?

Finally: How long will society's obsession with celebrity continue? For many who read this column simply because they saw Michael Jordan's name in the headline, it will probably be a long time.

[Monroe Roark can be reached at mroark@TheCitizenNews.com.]

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