Clips of Michael Jordan calling out media personnel for getting ‘personal’ resurface amidst SAS-LBJ controversy

Chicago Bulls and NBA superstar Michael Jordan had once slammed media personnel for attacking his personal life.

Clips of Michael Jordan calling out media personnel for getting ‘personal’ resurface amidst SAS-LBJ controversy

Michael Jordan called out media personnel well before LeBron James did

The LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith discourse has taken the basketball world by storm. Their back-and-forth war of words has brought the spotlight onto the NBA. Now, they are taking personal shots at each other even though the Los Angeles Lakers superstar started it on a different note.

At first, he told reporters that no one wants to be the Face of the NBA. That is squarely because of the way the media, especially the veterans, are covering it. Their constant criticisms are not helping as players are not willing to face the negativity that comes with that role.

YouTube video

But since it is something that helps the networks, they tow that line as they need attention grabbing narratives. Smith’s colleague, Kendrick Perkins, lashed out at his former friend, suggesting the four-time champion was trying to convey that athletes should always be praised.

But fans believe Perkins’ version was not true and that LeBron James was not the only one to condemn the media. They found and uploaded videos of Michael Jordan saying along the same lines. In one of those videos, a young Chicago Bulls superstar was seen speaking with reporters. There he said.

This is an attack to my private life, and I don’t agree with it. But I felt the need to come out and express that and tell the truth so that you guys can quit hallucinating and taking it further than what it is.

Michael Jordan said

This means, Michael Jordan, the player Stephen A. Smith and others at ESPN deeply admire, also called out the media. But unlike how it is with LeBron James, journalists and reporters did agree to what he said and stopped publishing anything personal.

Michael Jordan asked media to avoid publishing certain facts

Kendrick Perkins believes LeBron James wants the media to only say good things about him. The former champion believes that is not how sports media should operate. To this, fans found another video of Michael Jordan where reporters revealed how he controlled the media. HBO Sports’ Bryant Gumbel said.

He has an awful amount of clout. I’ve heard from more than one person that if you step outside the bounds of how he wants you perceived, then the word will get to you.

Bryant Gumbel said

Later on in that video, it shows a Sports Illustrated reporter revealing that one magazine cover talking about his baseball exploits did not sit well with His Airness. Jordan has not spoken to SI since then. That is how he avoided those who criticized him.

Another part revealed that Michael Jordan asked reporters to not publish a story about his then first-born Jeffrey. At the time, he and Juanita Vanoy were not married, and it could have dented his public image. Sportswriters obliged after he asked for a favor.

Everybody made money through Michael Jordan

This means, Michael Jordan asked in some favors and the media obliged. It was not just his persona as the elite basketball star that he was. But as ESPN Chicago Bureau’s Andrea Kremer explained, the Chicago Bulls superstar was someone they fed off of.

Michael Jordan is the Teflon athlete of our generation. Everything just fell off of Jordan. You couldn’t win any points in the media if you said or wrote something bad about him. People didn’t want to hear that.

Andrea Kremer said

Another journalist explained that everybody made money through Michael Jordan. That was the reason, the nation and its journalists were in denial even if anything wrong was said about him. Ironically, this clipping is from an ESPN Classic video. If anything, it proves that athletes have spoken out before, but in Jordan’s case, they listened to him.