Scottie Pippen made a number of controversy-inducing statements about Michael Jordan in his latest interview with Dan Patrick.
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Pippen has been on a promotional tour for his brand of bourbon whiskey over the past few days. The likes of Dan Le Batard and other ESPN talk shows have had him on their shows. Pippen has pulled no punches when asked hard questions about his Chicago Bulls days.
Pippen has racked up a series of ‘casualties’ through his blunt answers and revelations for things regarding his colleagues. Kevin Durant was one of those whom he’s criticized recently, but the Nets star hit back scathingly with good comebacks of his own.
His latest appearance on the Dan Patrick show revealed some more of his opinions on media coverage of his career. It seems that Scottie’s mission with his revelations is clear – he wants to set the record straight.
And it comes from a place of trying to regain the narrative regarding how his career played out. Scottie Pippen feels, rightly or otherwise, that his career hasn’t received the fanfare he deserved. His views on Jordan, Phil Jackson, and Kobe Bryant certainly leave little room for contextual interpretation.
Scottie Pippen calls Michael Jordan’s decision to retire and play baseball selfish
Dan seemed to find some jarringly blunt statements from Scottie Pippen whichever direction he ventured to take the interview. This remained true when he asked the 6-time champion what he thought of MJ’s decision to retire from the NBA in 1993:
“I didn’t really know much about the decision at the time. I was focused on my craft… Yeah It was a big decision, but it was a selfish decision, but it was kind of who Michael Jordan was. That was a guy who believed he can do anything on his own.”
Pippen was definitely speaking from his own perspective here. One can understand how gutted he’d have felt to learn at the start of the season that Mike wouldn’t be suiting up. Any teammate might certainly be left with the impression that Jordan was turning his back on them.
But at the same time, it is very inconsiderate of Pippen to frame his response in such a manner. As someone who’s lost a son recently, Scottie should empathize more with what Jordan went through that year.
Losing a family member is hard and forces people to sometimes take a step back from their lives. Jordan, despite his superhuman image in the media, is a human being with feelings.
