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Michael Jordan has seen his name plastered on both sides of the Civil Rights movement. The NBA great was one of the first to speak out against the Donald Sterling scandal but has been accused of not being visible enough in African-American current events all the same.

In a new tell-all biography, his Airness recalls his racist surroundings as a kid growing up in North Carolina and how it made him counter white people with racism of his own.

Via Fox Sports:

The book, “Michael Jordan: The Life,” is a biography of His Airness written by Roland Lazenby. In it, Jordan explains how growing up in an area of North Carolina heavily influenced — and sometimes even funded — by the Ku Klux Klan in the 1960s and ’70s shaped his views on race . . . and they were far from what would be viewed as politically correct.

Reportedly, these views really took shape shortly after Jordan watched the iconic television miniseries “Roots,” and after a girl at his school called him the N-word in 1977.

“So I threw a soda at her,” Jordan says in the book. “I was really rebelling. I considered myself a racist at the time. Basically, I was against all white people.”

The book also includes anecdotes of Jordan’s time on the school baseball team, when he was one of only two black players and was called inferior while on the team.

In many ways, the book serves as a testament to Jordan’s drive, which many people close to him believe was fueled by negative experiences, particularly in his early life.

These days, the only color Jordan really clouds his vision with is green.

It was reported he made an estimated $90 million last year and he recently unveiled his brand new Air Jordan XX9 sneakers, which will surely balloon his bank account once more.

Photo: WENN/Judy Eddy