Michael Jordan was known for being “psychotic” in his approach to winning. His teammates have often described Jordan as a “jerk”, as most did not agree with his extreme approach to ensuring “winning”. However, without then-Bulls head coach Phil Jackson, we don’t know if MJ could have led his team to the Championship even with his radical methods.
Jackson played multiple roles on the 1990s Bulls team.
He not only coached the team, but often played mind games with his players in an attempt to get the best out of them.
Jackson also had a special talent for managing superstars, as the legendary coach managed three different teams in NBA history. But with that being said, not even Coach Jackson could completely contain Jordan. MJ’s competitive aggressiveness often became a point of conflict within the team. But Jordan’s anger did cause a lot of concern for Coach Jackson when His Airness punched his teammate, Steve Kerr.
Phil Jackson remembers the incident in his book.
Eleven Rings: A Soul of Success. In recounting the incident between Jordan and Kerr, Coach Jackson gave readers his perspective on the altercation.
“A week after camp started, I had a conference call scheduled with the media.…I ordered the other coaches to postpone practice and give the players some shooting drills until I returned…before I got off the phone, our equipment manager, Johnny Ligmanowski, was at my door saying, ‘You better come MJ just hit Steve and he’s in the locker room getting ready to leave practice. Kerr and Jordan had gotten into a small fight that escalated until Michael punched Steve in the face, giving him a black eye.”
After the scrimmage, Coach Jackson recalled walking into the Bulls locker room where he would find Jordan. As Jordan walked into the shower, Jackson demanded that his star player apologize to his teammate.[Steve Kerr] for his actions. However, MJ refused to do so. But Jackson would leave Jordan with an ultimatum. “You better call Steve and clear it up. before tomorrow,” Kerr had told Jordan, according to his book, before leaving.
Jordan explains his actions against Kerr
Although Jordan would apologize for his actions, there appears to be a specific reason why he poked his teammate in the eye. In 2020, we would get an answer for the same, as Jordan would abandon his ten-part documentary series.” The last Dance” on Netflix. During the show, Jordan would explain that Jackson had been calling fouls against her during practice on that fateful day. Jordan, who was not having any “soft” officiating, would choose to respond with aggression. He also believed the team had to be tougher and didn’t want his players to get used to easy fouls. Having reached the limit of his patience, Jordan would make an example of Kerr. Speaking about the incident in his Netflix documentary, Jordan recalled:
“The next time he[ Steve Kerr] I did it, I just lunged at Kerr. When I fouled Steve Kerr, I said, ‘That’s a damn foul.’… He[ Steve Kerr] He walks away and punches me in the chest, and I just get up and punch him right in the damn eye. And Phil just knocks me out of practice.”
Jordan would later call Kerr after practice and apologize to his teammate for his actions. Kerr would be very attentive to the entire incident, as the duo would grow closer after the small skirmish. Things would go well for the Bulls, as they would end up winning the Championship that year.[ 1995-1996].
