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ESPN Insider Says Jerry Krause Was Booed By Bulls Fans Because Michael Jordan Is A Bully
Anne Ryan, USA TODAY, USA TODAY via Imagn Content Services, LLC

The Chicago Bulls held a Ring of Honor ceremony last week to honor icons from the franchise's history. This included players, coaches, and executives. As a result, the Bulls tried to honor the late Jerry Krause, GM of the '90s Bulls, but the fans inadvertently booed his widow Thelma Krause.

ESPN insider Tim MacMahon said that the only reason that happened was because Michael Jordan is a bully and the fans only booed Krause because everyone knows MJ doesn't like Krause on the Hoop Collective podcast. 

(Starts at 34:35)

“Michael Jordan is a bully, he’s a petty bully. He’s arguably the greatest player of all time, but he’s a petty bully and the fans followed his lead.” 

Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps agreed with what MacMahon said on the podcast, alluding to The Last Dance being the main reason why Jerry Krause is hated by the modern generation of Bulls fans who weren't around for the dynasty.  

Michael Jordan is widely considered the greatest basketball player of all time, a status that he may never lose given the magnitude of his achievements. But basketball is a team sport and every great player needs a great coach and a great GM to maximize their potential. The Bulls had that GM with Jerry Krause, who has become a disliked figure in Chicago for his decision to end the Bulls dynasty in 1998.

The Last Dance poured fuel on that fire, painting Krause as an antagonist and showing the lack of respect Jordan and some of his teammates had for him. Despite putting together the greatest team of all time, Krause has seen his contributions minimized by the process of The Last Dance and how modern fans perceive the Bulls dynasty.

NBA Figures Are Upset With How Bulls Fans Treated Thelma Krause

A lot of notable NBA players are speaking out in support of the Krause family after the coldhearted booing that Thelma Krause had to endure at the hands of Bulls fans. It's going to be the lasting memory of a ceremony meant to honor the greatest people in Bulls history.

Support for Thelma has come from NBA legends such as Charles Barkley and Isiah Thomas, along with former Bulls players also expressing their disappointment over what went down like Steve Kerr and John Salley. 

Krause wasn't the ideal authority figure and the Last Dance correctly points out many of the negative things he did to the Bulls during his era. But success is what defined that era of Bulls basketball and Krause ensured the franchise continued to succeed at the highest level by making shrewd front-office moves like identifying Scottie Pippen and making a trade for his draft rights, bringing over Dennis Rodman and any player that Jordan felt would help the team win.

People can be upset over moves like signing Toni Kukoc and the negative vibes it created in the locker room, all those moves ultimately enabled a franchise to win six titles in eight years. Jordan was the driver behind those wins, but Krause was the engineer.  

This article first appeared on Fadeaway World and was syndicated with permission.

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