The Chicago Bulls’ Ring of Honor initiative to pay tribute to their 72-10 team of the 1996/97 season turned into misery last night. The home crowd disrespected their former general manager Jerry Krause during the event by booing him in the United Center. Following this, Gregg Popovich expressed his disgust using the San Antonio Spurs fans doing the same to Kawhi Leonard as a reference.
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During the halftime of the Bulls’ last home game against the Golden State Warriors, they honored Krause as a key contributor to their success in 1997. Unexpectedly, the supporters did not align themselves with the franchise’s beliefs. They started booing as soon as the late former executive’s image became visible on the big screen. The disrespectful instance devastated his widow, Thelma, as she broke down in tears.
Following this instance, Popovich shared his stance on the matter using Leonard’s visit to Texas earlier this season as an example. “I feel the same way about that as when Kawhi Leonard got booed here. It’s unnecessary. It’s impolite. It’s ignorant. If anything, it’s like a snapshot of the world we live in today. Meanness seems to be a lot more condoned,” he mentioned.
In November last year, the Spurs fans booed their former player following his trade move away from the Frost Bank Center in 2018. They expressed their hidden anger toward the small forward before Coach Pop defended one of his former disciples. “Can we stop all the booing and let these guys play? It’s not who we are,” he declared on that occasion borrowing a mic from the scorer’s table.
Unlike Leonard, no one came forward to defend Krause’s pride as the Bulls organization failed to control their supporters. It also put the franchise and the league under bad limelight adding further volume to Popovich’s remarks. More importantly, it scarred the 2x NBA Executive of the Year’s family for the rest of their lives, and even left Krause’s widowed wife flush with tears and anguish.
It was just a bad night for the NBA as a whole.
How did the rest of the NBA react to Jerry Krause being disrespected?
Since the happening, several NBA personalities have come forward to condemn the actions of the Bulls fans, with Steve Kerr being one of them. The former member of the organization declared in the post-game conference, “It’s shameful. It’s absolutely shameful. I can not believe. I am devastated for Thelma and the Krause family. What can we possibly be thinking?”.
Stacey King, a former Bulls player turned sports announcer expressed a similar stance as he shared his disbelief right after the occasion. “It was the worst thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” he mentioned. “Whoever booed her in this arena should be ashamed of themselves. That’s not Chicago, that’s New York,” the 56-year-old further added.
Thus, the entire NBA seems to unite to showcase their disgust with the actions of the Bulls crowd. The passionate supporters’ unwillingness to let go of the past, ruined the night for the entire organization. All in all, the historic night turned into one of the haunting ones for the league for years to come.
