Yes, Michael Jordan was still fighting it on Friday night, and maybe he always will. Mostly, he was crying over the passing of that old Jordan, and it wouldn’t be long until he climbed out of his suit and back into his uniform and shorts, back into an adolescent act that’s turned so tedious.His conclusion:
This wasn’t a Hall of Fame induction speech, but a bully tripping nerds with lunch trays in the school cafeteria. He had a responsibility to his standing in history, to players past and present, and he let everyone down. This was a night to leave behind the petty grievances and past slights – real and imagined. This was a night to be gracious, to be generous with praise and credit.
M.J. was introduced as the greatest player ever and he’s still standing there trying to settle scores,” one Hall of Famer said privately later.
Jordan didn’t hurt his image with the NBA community as much as he reminded them of it. “That’s who Michael is,” one high-ranking team executive said. “It wasn’t like he was out of character. There’s no one else who could’ve gotten away with what he did tonight. But it was Michael, and everyone just goes along.”
Jordan wandered through an unfocused and uninspired speech at Symphony Hall, disparaging people who had little to do with his career, like Jeff Van Gundy and Bryon Russell. He ignored people who had so much to do with it, like his personal trainer, Tim Grover. This had been a moving and inspirational night for the NBA – one of its best ceremonies ever – and five minutes into Jordan’s speech it began to spiral into something else. Something unworthy of Jordan’s stature, something beneath him.
Jordan wasn’t crying over sentimentality on Friday night as much as he was the loss of a life that he returned from two retirements to have again. The finality of his basketball genius hit him at the induction ceremony, hit him hard. Jordan showed little poise and less grace.Read the rest.
It does make me sad to read this column. I think all of us wanted to believe that MJ was neigh unto deity. Probably says more about our false expectations of fallen humanity that runs through all of us.
6 comments:
Thanks for posting the video. I had read that article and was sad about his speech from what was said. But now that I've heard it, I don't think it was all that bad. I think he was just trying to communicate what has driven him on to succeed. I don't think he meant any harm.
They really gave him a hard time.
I agree that the actual speech was not nearly as bad as the article made it out to be. Sounded like the author had a serious chip on his shoulder.
But it is clear that basketball is an idol for MJ: a "refuge," his place of peace and satisfaction. Basketball is a nice game but a terrible god.
JT
The speech was fine.
Actually, Z didn't post the full speech. All the negative stuff was edited out. From Jason Whitlock's article (defending MJ) and alluding to MJ's rants:
"No doubt, racial bias played a role in Buzz Peterson being named North Carolina's high school player of the year over Jordan in 1981. Friday night, Jordan talked about how he roomed with Peterson at UNC and set out to prove Peterson's inferiority. Jordan said he didn't care about the infamous NBA All Star freeze-out allegedly orchestrated by Isiah Thomas and other black players. Jordan said the rumor only made him work harder to prove to his peers that he deserved the attention and acclaim he received at an early age.
Jordan took shots at the high school coach who didn't let him play varsity as a sophomore, Jerry Krause for valuing the franchise more than the players who powered the Bulls, Dean Smith for leaving him off a Sports Illustrated cover and Bryon Russell for daring to say he could defend Air Jordan."
I was let down by Jordan's acceptance speech. I think he prides himself in being a classy guy, and to air all your dirty laundry instead of giving credit to family and friends was a big mistake.
There is two prominant articles on the net condemning Jordan's speech, one from Adrian Wojnarowski and one from Rick Reiily. while I respect these writers I think they have a serious chip on their shoulders against Jordan. Maybe its something he said to them a long time ago, or maybe some insignificant snide that occurred. I read both of their articles without seeing the speech first, and I was surprised that Jordan would deliver such a spoiled speech. I believed the writers. But then I said, let me see if for myself and decide, before putting judgement. What I say was a heartwarming, honest speech which had some great stories. I think Jordan was giving insight to his competitiveness. Many of the people that received the alleged "snides" were in the audience. They didn't get upset, they were smiling and looked genuinely happy. I think it was more of a reflection of Jordan's relationship with people and how he fueled his inner fire.
I think those two writers are just making up sh*T so they can write an article.
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