“Players Get Punched 3x A Year, Only Michael Jordan’s Gets Publicity”: When Steve Kerr Lambasted NBA Media For Lopsided Coverage
In the midst of the Draymond Green-Jordan Poole fiasco, Steve Kerr once spoke out about his altercation with Michael Jordan.
thanks to filtration video, the whole Draymond Green-Jordan Poole fiasco is much more serious than we imagined. As various reports continue to share shocking information day by day, various players in the NBA community have spoken out on the matter.
As the details of the incident became known, a similar incident that occurred once between Steve Kerr Y Michael Jordan has resurfaced.
For those who don’t know, back in 1995, Bulls teammates were on opposite teams during a practice session. As expected, His Airness dominated everyone on the court, while he bad-mouthed all the players.
At one point, Kerr didn’t appreciate MJ’s foul and responded by hitting Mike.
In rather violent response, the 6-foot-6 guard punched the skinny shooter right in the “damn eye.”
“I just walked away and hit him right in the fucking eye. And Phil just takes me out of practice.”
Episodes 7 and 8 air next Sunday at 9pm ET on ESPN 📺 #The last Dance pic.twitter.com/ONZAnjlcbc
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 4, 2020
Also Read: NBA Fans Mention MJ Hitting Steve Kerr While Smearing Draymond Green
Steve Kerr spoke out about the infamous altercation years after it happened
Years later, during his stint as head coach of the Golden State Warriors, Kerr spoke about the infamous altercation with Jordan.
Steve talked about Mike’s tactics of going hard against his teammates during practice to set them up for the playoffs. Kerr then revealed how the 5-time MVP expected his teammates to take him on. Finally, Kerr revealed that such serious incidents were quite common, occurring up to 3 times a year on each team. However, this dispute was given more light because the personality involved was Michael Jordan.
“His (Michael Jordan) theory was that he would put pressure on all of us every day in practice to be ready for the playoffs and the pressure that comes with adversity. It wasn’t easy being his teammate. He challenged you. You had to face him and prove yourself. So we got into it one day. It was just a competitive practice. We talk trash and get involved a bit.
I mean, it’s something that happens, frankly, probably 3 times a year on every team, but when Michael Jordan is involved, it becomes a little bit more (publicity).”
The fight improved Kerr’s relationship with Michael Jordan
Surprisingly, this physical altercation made Michael “trust” Steve more. As Kerr explained, his relationship with the six-time champion only improved after the fight.
A few years ago, during the pandemic, the GSW head coach made an NBA appearance on TNT, and revealed the positive conclusions of the heated moment.
“We talked about it, and it was probably, in a weird way, the best thing I ever did in my life, was stand up for him because he tested everyone I played with and I stood up to him,” Kerr said. “From that moment on, our relationship improved dramatically and our trust in each other, everything. It was like, ‘Okay, we got it out of the way.’ Let’s go to war together.’”
“I feel like I passed the test and he trusted me more afterwards.”@SteveKerr discusses how a practice altercation with MJ helped grow their relationship in #NBATtogether pic.twitter.com/yUwghEt513
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 23, 2020
As much as Golden State Warriors fans hope something similar will happen between Poole and Green, it seems highly unlikely. Only time will tell what the future holds for the two San Francisco-based franchise players.
Also Read: Amid Draymond Green vs. Jordan Poole Fight Video Leaking, Story of Michael Jordan Hitting Steve Kerr Resurfaces
