A Nike Executive Told of Once Killing a Man. Here’s What He Left Out.
The New York Times
Larry Miller has written a book revealing that at age 16, in 1965, he murdered someone. The disclosure blindsided the family of the victim, whose name he never mentioned.
PHILADELPHIA — Late at night on Sept. 30, 1965, Edward David White, 18, walked toward his family’s rowhouse in the West Philadelphia neighborhood after his shift at a suburban diner. Known as David to his family and friends, he had a son who was 8 months old, and his girlfriend was pregnant with their daughter. They planned to marry in the spring.
Mr. White did not make it home. A 16-year-old gang member, drunk on cheap wine and seeking retribution for the stabbing death of a member of his crew, shot him with a .38-caliber handgun, piercing his heart and his right lung. Mr. White, who was unarmed and had no police record, was left to die in the street.
His killer went on to a prosperous life as a sports and marketing executive. He is Larry Miller, now 72, a former team president of the Portland Trail Blazers and the head of the Michael Jordan brand at Nike. He kept the secret of his murderous past for more than half a century, revealing it in a recent Sports Illustrated interview and a forthcoming book.
