Source: Aurelien Meunier – PSG / Getty
The memoir of senior Nike executive and former NBA team president Larry Miller has gained some notoriety upon its release, leading to his seeking forgiveness from the family of the person he murdered decades ago.
In reporting from the New York Times, the book that Miller wrote with his daughter, titled Jump: My Secret Journey From the Streets to the Boardroom, was published on Tuesday (January 18). One key segment of the book discusses how Miller, as a 16-year old gang member in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania pled guilty to the second-degree murder of Edward David White back in 1965. He wrote about that crime as well as other crimes he committed before rehabilitating his life and becoming the former president of the Portland Trail Blazers and the chairman of the Michael Jordan brand at Nike as an example of a redemptive journey.
But he doesn’t mention White by name in the book, and White’s family was not informed that Miller would be writing about his role in the murder, only learning about it by an article published about it late last year.
Miller would reach out to White’s sister, son, and daughter soon after that article, eventually meeting them in a law office in Philadelphia for the first of two meetings last December. In that first meeting which was termed emotional by all taking part, Miller was described as being highly apologetic with tears in his eyes at certain points. Barbara Mack, White’s sister, relayed afterward that she forgave him saying, “if I didn’t forgive him, God wouldn’t forgive me.” She also added that while she accepted a hug from Miller, “If I was 30 years younger, I would have been across that table at you.”
White’s daughter, Azizah Arline, previously expressed her dismay over her father not being mentioned by name in the book. But she and her brother, Hasan Adams, were hopeful that Miller was truly sincere in seeking forgiveness from them. These actions included preliminary discussions that would see Miller set up a scholarship foundation in White’s name which would aid his descendants and others in being funded for their college and trade school educations. The foundation would be funded in perpetuity. “I will call him on the carpet every single time,” Arline said, to ensure “that this legacy for my father comes to fruition.”
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