MJ Speech

[The-Real-Truth]

What an arrogant jerk. I never was an MJ fan. Now I know why. Did you all watch him in HF ceremony? He sounded like a complete jerk to me. I think it is killing him that Kobe or LJ are getting all the attention now. He got away with way too many no-calls from refs. Make no mistake, I believe that he was the greatest basketball player ever but would you speak like that on that particular day? Larry and Magic always talk about their rivalry. MJ sounded like there was no other player who could even been close to be guarding him. I still remember during his early days when bad boys of Detroit really killed him on the court. It is too bad that those guys were much older then and didn’t last much longer. I particularly loved the defense that Dumar used to play on him.

 

[SelectionSunday]

I second that. I think MJ is the greatest player of all time, but I lost all respect for him with his speech for the HOF. What an egomaniac, classless dink. This is clearly a guy who can't cope with being out of the spotlight.

I can only imagine what first-class guys like The Admiral and John Stockton were thinking as they were listening to this egomaniac's speech. It's kinda' pathetic, really.

 

[The Truth]

Stockton was always regarded by his peers as one of the dirtiest players in the game. He'd constantly throw elbows, hit players in the testicles coming off and around screens, etc.

I didn't watch the enshrinement because I grew tired of the week long hype. They honestly should have let him go in by himself. His induction totally overshadowed two outstanding players in Robinson and Stockton (not to mention Sloan and Vivian Stringer) and that was rather unfair. I will say perhaps people are starting to understand that Jordan the person is not the same as Jordan the carefully crafted marketing icon. Jordan has and always will be an a-hole. It's part of what made him great but unlike a Barkley it never overshadowed him because of his carefully orchestrated and manipulated media and advertising image.

 

[Friend Of Tubby]

Stockton was always regarded by his peers as one of the dirtiest players in the game. He'd constantly throw elbows, hit players in the testicles coming off and around screens, etc.

I didn't watch the enshrinement because I grew tired of the week long hype. They honestly should have let him go in by himself. His induction totally overshadowed two outstanding players in Robinson and Stockton (not to mention Sloan and Vivian Stringer) and that was rather unfair. I will say perhaps people are starting to understand that Jordan the person is not the same as Jordan the carefully crafted marketing icon. Jordan has and always will be an a-hole. It's part of what made him great but unlike a Barkley it never overshadowed him because of his carefully orchestrated and manipulated media and advertising image.

I know John personally. Natalie played with the Starzz while he was on the Jazz. And he was a neighbor (SLC suburb) of my sister-in-law and brother-in-law in Holladay UT.

He is a bit standoffish (unfriendly) in person but had great respect from most teammates and opponents.

 

[Friend Of Tubby]

I second that. I think MJ is the greatest player of all time, but I lost all respect for him with his speech for the HOF. What an egomaniac, classless dink. This is clearly a guy who can't cope with being out of the spotlight.

I can only imagine what first-class guys like The Admiral and John Stockton were thinking as they were listening to this egomaniac's speech. It's kinda' pathetic, really.

MJ disrespected his ex-wife Juanita (a WONDERFUL lady in every respect) by "messing around" with younger women for years. In particular, a bleached-blonde from near Fort Wayne IN.

He was a superb player but not a very nice guy (for the most part).

 

[thadevoeshow]

I guess I will be the only one on here that didn't take offense to the speech. What ever the capacity he thanked alot of people for making him the player he ended up being.
The part about coming back at 50 was a little far out there, but overall I think the worst part of the speech was the length.

 

[GopherLady]

In case you didn't get to see it:

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hMMBWJJPjSE&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hMMBWJJPjSE&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

 

[TWeber]

In case you didn't get to see it:

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hMMBWJJPjSE&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hMMBWJJPjSE&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

The whole speech is around 22 minutes long. He starts by explaining how he stayed motivated and discussed how competitors, coaches, management, etc kept him motivated. That is where people seem to feel that he is ripping on Russel, Riley, Van Gundy, etc. When I heard the whole thing, it does not come off to me as bad as when I just hear clips because there is a reason for the discussion.

 

[The-Real-Truth]

The whole speech is around 22 minutes long. He starts by explaining how he stayed motivated and discussed how competitors, coaches, management, etc kept him motivated. That is where people seem to feel that he is ripping on Russel, Riley, Van Gundy, etc. When I heard the whole thing, it does not come off to me as bad as when I just hear clips because there is a reason for the discussion.

That might be true. What got me really upset was the fact that he gave nobody any credit but himself. Dean Smith kept waiting for his thank you. It finally came with so much of bs behind it. I even think that he chose almost a nobody(Thompson) on the stage so he can have it all by himself. Like I said, I loved the days that Joe Dumar used to kill him on the court.

 

[Friend Of Tubby]

That might be true. What got me really upset was the fact that he gave nobody any credit but himself. Dean Smith kept waiting for his thank you. It finally came with so much of bs behind it. I even think that he chose almost a nobody(Thompson) on the stage so he can have it all by himself. Like I said, I loved the days that Joe Dumar used to kill him on the court.

Michael was not particularly well liked by some (I daresay many) of his Bulls' teammates.

Like most superstar athletes, there is a fine line between arrogance and supreme confidence. MJ crossed that line pretty often.

But he backed it up.

 

[anticallihan]

I saw the whole speech, and I actually found it very motivational. It would be something I would like to show my kids.

I don't think many of us understand what it takes to be number one and the best.

This guy was that. If you are offended by what that takes, so be it.

Personally, I am a competitive person. Not as competitive as him, but it got me thinking about that.

 

[The-Real-Truth]

I saw the whole speech, and I actually found it very motivational. It would be something I would like to show my kids.

I don't think many of us understand what it takes to be number one and the best.

This guy was that. If you are offended by what that takes, so be it.

Personally, I am a competitive person. Not as competitive as him, but it got me thinking about that.

Very good point. I am not a competitive person at all. I played organized sports for many years but I was a totally different person during the games. My motivation was to have fun. I was pretty good at it and was an all-star player for a few years. I think MJ was/is a very unhappy person. If your goal in life is to beat every person, you are not at ease with yourself.

 

[andy]

Jordan

He started off nice enough, recognizing Pippen as being in all the game clips they showed at ceremony.

The middle was basically "you all tried to hold me back, and thank you for doing that because it made me want to beat you down, which I eventually did." True? Sure. Appropriate for a HOF induction speech? Not by a long shot.

But Jordan's biggest blunder was in calling out Russell like some kind of punk, when his most famous shot was a gift of the most blatant no-call offensive foul in Finals history. People replay that shot over and over, and only once in a blue moon does that come up. Unreal.

I'll take Jerry Sloan's speech any day.