Michael Jordan‘s glorious farewell from the NBA in 2003 was followed by probably the most embarrassing moment of his life. He was fired by the Washington Wizards’ majority owner Abe Pollin during a brief meeting in the team’s arena. The decision was not intended to be dramatic but necessary. However, Jordan driving away in his convertible after shouting expletives at minority owner Ted Leonsis was nothing short of drama, but probably something the management should have seen coming.
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After his ‘Last Dance’ with the Chicago Bulls, Jordan retired from professional basketball following the Jerry Krause-led Chicago front office’s decision to remove Phil Jackson as the Head Coach of the team. However, he returned to the NBA just days after the turn of the century as the Washington Wizards’ President of Basketball Operations. A year and a half later, Jordan would make the decision to lace his boots for a third time.
“You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain,” Harvey Dent had said in The Dark Knight. Jordan chose the latter as he looked to return to the Wizards’ front office after an underwhelming and lackluster two-season stint as a player. His ‘death’ as a hero was epic – from a four-minute standing ovation at United Center to Vince Carter offering him the starting position in the 2003 All-Star game.
But MJ trudged along after the curtains closed. Pollin and Leonsis were frustrated with the franchise’s poor record under Jordan, alongside the infighting and resentment from the players. After the Bulls legend’s failed stint as the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets, it will be easier for posterity to accept the firing of Michael Jordan. But what Pollin and Leonsis did at that time was blasphemy. They informed the greatest player of all time that his services were no longer required by the organization.
Even Jordan was shocked by the verdict and obviously angry. “Without any prior discussion with me, ownership informed me that it had unilaterally decided to change our mutual long-term understanding. I am shocked by this decision, and by the callous refusal to offer me any justification for it,” MJ had said, as per this ESPN report, before storming away rejecting a $10 million severance compensation.
Were the owners justified in firing Michael Jordan?
Michael Jordan stacked up one poor decision over another during his stint with the Wizards. It was as if he was on a self-destructive mission to undo his life’s work in the NBA and tarnish his enduring legacy.
Jordan’s poor 110-179 record as an executive was the least of his problems. Everything he touched took a nosedive into the depths of hell. The Wizards had a 37-45 record in MJ’s final year as a player. Everyone blamed head coach Doug Collins, who was Jordan’s former coach and was favored for the job to make the latter feel more at home.
Jordan made one mistake after another as an executive, which included memorable ones like drafting Kwame Brown as the #1 pick in the 2001 NBA Draft. He would retain these faulty methods during his stint as the Chairman of the Charlotte Hornets as well. His Airness finally hung up his NBA executive boots for good earlier this year after selling the Hornets for a staggering $3 billion.
