City tells Jordan to keep it clean (air)

A city official has asked the PGA Tour to remind Michael Jordan that he can't smoke cigars at Harding Park during the Presidents Cup.

Jordan, inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame last month, is serving as an honorary assistant to U.S. captain Fred Couples. A photo of Jordan smoking his cigar during a practice round, published Tuesday in the San Francisco Chronicle, caught the attention of city officials.
Harding Park is a public facility, and smoking is banned.

"I've already sent an e-mail to the PGA Tour director," Recreation and Park general manager Phil Ginsburg told the newspaper. "It was a gentle nudge reminding them that smoking is illegal and that we would appreciate their support."


Jordan apparently is aware of the regulations, saying in an interview with PGATour.com that he "heard this is a public place, so they limit what you can smoke. I'm not even supposed to be smoking, but this was a practice round and no one said anything."

Ideally, Jordan said, he would like to smoke "a minimum of three" cigars per round, according to the Chronicle.
In 2006, the city Board of Supervisors voted to include public golf courses among the parks that would ban smoking. A violation could net a $100 fine.

"But don't expect me to ask him for it," city attorney's spokesman Matt Dorsey told the Chronicle.