During halftime of the Chicago Bulls’ game against the Golden State Warriors on Friday night, the Bulls held their first-ever Ring of Honor ceremony to celebrate the contributions of legends like Michael Jordan to the franchise. However, what was supposed to be a joyous moment turned painful when it was the late Jerry Krause’s turn to be honored.
The mood inside the United Center changed, and the team’s former general manager was met with harsh boos. To make matters worse, he was represented by his widow Thelma, who reacted very emotionally to the fans’ reaction.
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The incident quickly went viral on social media, with some expressing displeasure with the reaction from Bulls fans. Fans were also quick to point to Jordan and Netflix’s documentary “The Last Dance” as the main reasons for the late general manager’s reaction.
“Well, I’ll say this – Michael Jordan is a jerk. Just not a good person,” one user on X posted before praising LeBron James. “LeBron is (the GOAT). Great player + great person.”
Another fan posted: “Jordan had a nasty agenda against Klaus in the Last Dance documentary and now his family has to deal with it, what a horrible person he is.”
“Seeing a lot of ‘The Last Dance Rotten…’ tweets. So you guys finally woke up to that carefully crafted piece of propaganda,” one post read.
“‘The Last Dance’ really ruined the reputation of everyone on the ’90s Bulls team except Jordan,” one user wrote.
“This is about Michael Jordan. He created this, he wanted this. But, as always, he is completely perfect and will receive zero criticism.”
Also read: ‘He’s not going because Scottie will be there’: Michael Jordan’s absence from Ring of Honor celebrations stirs NBA fan frenzy.
Why Jerry Krause was booed was blamed on Michael Jordan and ‘The Last Dance’?
In 2020, Netflix launched a 10-part miniseries telling the story of the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls championship run. One of the stories told in the documentary is the role then-general manager Jerry Krause played in dismantling the team.
Krause was viewed as a villain by many fans of the team after “The Last Dance” portrayed him as the biggest reason for the end of the Bulls dynasty. However, in addition to Krause, the documentary also paints other key members of the team in a negative light, such as Jordan’s running mate Scottie Pippen.
While some were portrayed in a negative light, many fans noticed that Michael Jordan was portrayed in a more positive light. This led them to call the docuseries “propaganda” that was extremely beneficial to Jordan. Some even accused Jordan of using this series to stay ahead of the GOAT conversation.
Also read: ‘Jordan should apologize in person’: NBA Twitter slams documentary ‘The Last Dance’ after Jerry Krause was booed in front of widow.