by Andrew on Mon Dec 07, 2015 8:41 am
That probably explains why he sounds nervous whenever King says "hot sauce".
As for MJ, there's not much to say that hasn't already been said, and to be completely honest, I didn't really feel like rehashing it all again. But if you insist, here's my take.
From all accounts, MJ could be very difficult to say the least, and an absolute jerk at his worst. It's not really news, and I don't think a lot of people would deny it at this point. Having said that, I'm not sure what criteria makes his toughness on teammates bad, and someone like KG's good; that seems kind of arbitrary. I mean, if we're going by success, MJ's teams had more. If we're going by maturity...well, KG has literally gotten down on all fours and barked like a dog at an opponent, and has a tendency to throw dirty elbows then act all innocent; much as I like KG, that's a punk move. Bottom line, I don't agree with all their methods, or condone everything they've done, but they and other highly competitive athletes are in situations where tempers flare, tensions boil over, and things aren't always rosy, whether it's with opponents or teammates. It's not necessarily a justification, just an example of how they are still human and can make bad choices like anyone else.
While these incidents and elements of their character are worth noting, I do think there is a tendency to focus on the negative. Unless MJ was punching a teammate in every single practice, there were significantly more practices without blow-ups than ones where there were dust-ups. As you noted, there are also stories of him taking Pip under his wing, and showing support and kindness to Scott Williams after Williams' father passed away. Even in The Jordan Rules, it's noted that the team would socialise after games, and MJ reportedly got along with pretty much everyone in that setting. On the court and in practice however, as benji said, he was demanding and had high expectations. Unfortunately, that manifested itself in some ugly ways, and it's not something that I personally admire or condone, but it does seem to be a trait of many great and competitive players, in one way or another. Unfortunate, but I think to some extent, it's a product of the environment. In sport, things often get heated, only for everything to be cool when it's over and everybody shakes hands. Incidents happen and they can be ugly, but I don't think they should overshadow everything else.
