“SHE TAUGHT HIM OVER 40 YEARS AGO. HER DYING WISH? JUST TO HUG HIS NECK ONE MORE TIME.” Ms. Etta taught at Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina for over four decades. On May 11, she entered end-of-life care at Lower Cape Fear LifeCare. And while reflecting on her career, one name kept coming back — Michael Jordan. Her wish was simple. She just wanted to “hug Michael’s neck one more time.” Staff tried reaching him. No luck. Then one afternoon, social worker Wendy’s phone rang — unknown number. The voice on the other end said just five words: “Is this Ms. Etta?” Wendy dropped everything. Drove straight to Ms. Etta. Set up a FaceTime call between a dying teacher and the greatest basketball player who ever lived. They laughed. They picked at each other. They reminisced about a classroom from 1981 — long before six rings, before billions, before the legend. Everyone in the room cried. But Ms. Etta? She just smiled.
Ms. Etta and Michael Jordan: A Final Wish, a Phone Call, and One More Hug For more than 40 years,…