“He doesn’t deserve to eat” – When Michael Jordan despicably STARVED teammate due to poor performance

Sam Smith's Jordan Rules revealed the untold stories of Michael Jordan's competitiveness. It provided an insider's look at the iconic athlete.

“He doesn’t deserve to eat” – When Michael Jordan despicably STARVED teammate due to poor performance

Michael Jordan (via Instagram)

Sam Smith is a veteran columnist and a renowned sports writer. Smith found himself in the spotlight due to the tremendous excitement around ESPN’s documentary series, The Last Dance. The docu-series follows the Chicago Bulls‘ final championship season. Smith wrote “Jordan Rules,” an international bestseller published in 1992. He has long been regarded as the leading authority on Michael Jordan and the Bulls. His book provides an unprecedented insight beyond the legend to reveal the real Michael Jordan.

“Jordan Rules” was innovative in portraying the “real Jordan.” It was a side of the basketball legend that stood in stark contrast to his spotless public persona. The book explored Jordan’s insatiable drive for greatness. Such a drive occasionally manifested in tough love that bordered on bullying toward his teammates. 

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Smith recently discussed the responses of Bulls players to his book on Tolbert, Krueger, and Brooks. Surprisingly, many of Jordan’s teammates were happy to have Jordan’s less admirable characteristics made public instead of being outraged by the findings. Smith described an incident: “Players would come to me over the years and said, ‘You know what he did? He took Horace’s food away on the plane because Horace had a bad game; Michael told the stewardesses ‘Don’t feed him, he doesn’t deserve to eat.”

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The statements offered an insight into Jordan’s uncompromising standards on and off the court. Interestingly, a few players approached Smith and urged him to write down these unseen tales. They viewed it as a chance to be honest about their interactions with Jordan. Smith admitted that, following ethical journalistic standards, he could not include such testimonies without the subjects’ express permission.

Also Read: Kobe Bryant once SLAMMED Shaquille O’Neal for costing him titles by being overweight, 3-time Finals MVP responded with vicious ‘selfish’ jibe 

The controversy surrounding Jordan Rules and its impact on Michael Jordan’s teammates and legacy

Surely, a book such as Jordan Rules will have its fair share of controversy. Michael Jordan’s mentality remains out of this world. Only a very few players in sports history have such a mentality. However, his portrayal in the book did not sit well with him.

Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan (image via NBA.com)

Jordan famously accused Horace Grant of being the main source of insider information in “Jordan Rules.” However, Grant has since denied this claim. Bulls players disputed Jordan’s allegations. The Bulls players contended that the book provided a platform for their frustrations and a temporary escape from Jordan’s tremendous shadow.

Besides being a ground-breaking sports exposé, “Jordan Rules” gave Jordan’s teammates a chance to discuss the difficulties of playing with one of the greatest athletes ever. Sam Smith’s book continues to serve as a memorial to the complexities of Michael Jordan’s remarkable career, even as the documentary “The Last Dance” brought back memories of those memorable Bulls years.

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