Michael Jordan single-handedly changed the era of basketball. He was easily the most gifted basketballer to ever walk. But his desire to succeed was complimented with a ruthlessness that only served Jordan’s goals. For him, whoever was on the Bulls team was a part of his personal goal. And to achieve that goal, he was ready to go to any extent. Horace Grant fell prey to this instinct and was incessantly bullied by MJ.
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Michael Jordan is a champion through and through. He definitely knew how to win and leave his mark on the NBA. However, his empathy was a little skewed.
Jordan’s competitive nature pushed him to treat Horace Grant and Scottie Pippen poorly in their rookie season. He began teasing Grant and calling him names.
Michael Jordan bullied Horace Grant
While he threatened to beat Pippen during practice, he took a little different route with Grant. As per Roland Lazenby, the writer of Michael Jordan: The Life, MJ was mean to Horace and called him names.
It all started after Jerry Krause, the former GM of the Chicago Bulls, drafted Horace as the Bulls’ 10th pick. Michael was not impressed by the infamous executive’s decision and displayed his anger by lashing out at both Grant and Krause.
Roland Lazenby detailed the interaction in his book. He wrote:
“Dean Smith called me,” Krause recalled, “and ripped my rear end, literally. ‘How could you do that, you dumbbell?’ Literally. And Michael said, ‘What the hell? You took that dummy?!’ And for years that’s what he called Horace: Dummy. To his face. Dummy. Right to his face.”
Perhaps this is what caused the fallout between Horace Grant and MJ. Grant recently accused Jordan of being a snitch after Michael talked about teammates doing cocaine in the Last Dance.
Michael Jordan’s ruthless bullying wasn’t fair to his teammates
The way Jordan called out his GM and his teammate aren’t statements that can be condoned. It’s not two players talking to each other in jest or being friendly. It’s a man aware of his authority mercilessly attacking a young athlete.
Where Michael should have taken care of Horace Grant and other players, and shown them kindness, things would have been different. There is reason to believe that this would have impacted Michael’s legacy. Perhaps if he had shown empathy to these youngsters then, he would today be adored by everyone who played with him.
However, in the end, like all greats, Jordan is only human and humans are deeply flawed. But those flaws cannot be justifications for your actions. Especially if those actions harmed others. No one can question Michael Jordan’s success but some of his actions were nearly impossible to respect.
