Alastair Talbot
Updated at 03:54 on March 15, 2024, 04:29 on March 15, 2024
Former NHL star turned Barstool host Ryan Whitney reveals the cruel trash talk he once received from Michael Jordan on the golf course, with the six-time NBA champion even on the green He cursed him.
The 41-year-old former guard recalled Jordan’s competitive nature during a golf game to Paul Bissonnette, with whom he co-hosts Barstool Sports’ “Spittin’ Chiclets” podcast and guest star Justin Thomas.
“He didn’t say a word to me,” Whitney began. “We got to No. 17, which was the 35th hole of the day, a par-5, and I hit two shots on (the green). He died.’
But then Jordan made a birdie to keep himself in the match, and Whitney missed her birdie putt.
“The first thing he said all day was, ‘Yeah, b****,'” Whitney recalled.
“Then we move on to hole 36. I finished the last hole.” Press again and the hole is gone. He was like, “A scratched golfer…B**** you can’t scratch my wife’s a**.” I just left. I paid him only ten grand and left.
“I felt so big (fingers apart). He kept singing a rap tune and saying his name in the song. I was like, ‘What planet am I on right now? “
Whitney, a U.S. 2010 Winter Olympics silver medalist, played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Anaheim Ducks, Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers during his NHL career from 2005-14. Later he moved into the media industry.
The NHL Network analyst wasn’t the only one subjected to Jordan’s savage trash talk on the golf course, as professional golfer Ricky Fowler was also mocked for “his emptiness.”
“I was 7 under through 17 holes and lost,” Fowler recalled of the 2021 match against Jordan. “And he hasn’t been silent about it.”
Although Larry Bird was good at talking trash, Jordan once said that he considered Larry Bird a master of the art of trash-talking his opponents.
“Larry Bird is the greatest trash talker and mind gamer of all time,” the Bulls legend told The Athletic. “He taught me everything about how to get into people’s heads.”