Michael Jordan Reportedly Used Anti-Gay Slurs to Harangue Wizards Player (My Title)

Sports Illustrated ^ | 5/7/03 | L. Jon Wertheim

[Greg Luzinski]

(1) Re. "Greg Luzinski was one of the greatest drivers ever", I'm not sure I'm following you. You either have former Phillies 1970s leftfielder Greg "The Bull" Luzinski confused with someone else or you are far more pathetic a Phillies fan than even I am. Of course I had a lot of affection for The Bull, who was very likable, particularly to those of us who were kids during the Phillies' only sustained period of excellence, but he struck out a lot, and he's nowhere near the "driver" (= home run hitter?) as players such as Schmidt, Bonds, McGwire, Aaron (not known for monstrous rather than line-drive HRs, but you can't leave him out), Ruth and probably about 50-100 others.

(2) As far as I am aware, no one has suggested that Kwame Brown is homosexually inclined. It seems to me that Jordan was berating a young player for being soft. The key points here are that Jordan will not be grilled by the media the way Santorum was and that Jordan is probably something of a jerk to have turned off teammates to such an extent, including that one would (I'm guessing) leak this story to the Washington Post.

[Greg Luzinski]

Reggie White might disagree.

[TBP]

As long as Michael Jordan wasn't gambling, it's okay.

Actually, he was. Remember all the gambling stories just before he retired the first time? But he's a minority, so he's a victim.

[Greg Luzinski]

Regardless of one's views on homosexuality (even if one is not even charitable enough to be of the "hate the sin, love the sinner" mentality), there are few good reasons to call someone a "flaming faggot" other than to humiliate that person.

[Rebelbase]

"we first need to verify that said player isn't gay"

That will be difficult, you know, the way players frequently pat each other on the ass.

[TBP]

he designated second-year forward Kwame Brown as the whipping boy, referring to him, as reported by The Washington Post, as a "flaming faggot."

Even if Brown is a homosexual and even if he made an issue of it, neither of which I have heard anywhere else, there are less offensive ways of saying so. But this is typical of Michael Jordan and the liberal clique that protects him. BTW, Michael, how many women have you had since your marriage? Still chasing one of Wilt the Stilt's records?

[Greg Luzinski]

No doubt. But this is a young player who may well have preferred to ease into a pro basketball career but for whom there probably was really no choice, for family financial security reasons, but to go directly from playing against high school boys to playing against seasoned men. Jordan, who was enjoying being BMOC in Chapel Hill at the same age, could probably have been a little more sympathetic.

[TBP]

It's one thing to say that a player is homosexual, if he is. (I refuse to let tehm steal a perfectly good word like "gay" especially when most of the ones I have encountered aren't.) But to use that particular term is designed to be offensive. And BTW, when did being homosexual become a bad thing for liberals like MJ?

[TBP]

It's one thing to say that a player is homosexual, if he is. (I refuse to let tehm steal a perfectly good word like "gay" especially when most of the ones I have encountered aren't.) But to use that particular term is designed to be offensive. And BTW, when did being homosexual become a bad thing for liberals like MJ?

[RAT Patrol]

Oh, I agree with that. I just disagree with the hype. I mean, where's the outrage over other "slurs." FATSO! RETARD! STUPID! FOUR EYES! SLUT! MORON! or even GOODY-GOODY! MORALIST! PURITAN! BIBLE THUMPER! ..... There's just some major imbalance of outrage here. When everyone starts complaining about those slurs, then I'll start listening to their liberally motivated whining.

[lurky]

This is because Michael Jordan, while very talented, is a jerk.

That is my perception of him as well. He hides it well in public most of the time, tho.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

I wouldn't characterize Michael Jordan's gambling as being part of victimhood. Or at least, I don't think he would agree with that statement.

Back when that story broke, Jordan appeared on Oprah's show, shortly afterward. She tried to lecture him about it, in a half-hearted sort of way.

He admitted to his gambling. She said, something like, "but that's a huge amount of money". He responded by saying that he can afford it, and according to her wealth, the money that he wagered was peanuts... she could afford to play and lose much more than he could.

It put his loss into perspective. And, the same is true for Bennett's gambling, I suspect.

[RAT Patrol]

On second thought...I do not agree that the motive was to humiliate. First, we can't know his motives. We're not mindreaders. But we can be pretty sure that all things lead to winning (performance) for Michael Jordan. His likely motive was, as I said before, to anger him and produce adrenaline. That doesn't make it "nice," but it doesn't make it "to humiliate" either.

[lurky]

Before we jump too hard on MJ for calling another player gay, we first need to verify that said player isn't gay.

No, the issue is whether MJ used abusive language like a...."not very nice guy".

[RAT Patrol]

What if he had said "get up off your lazy a$$ you big fat bum and focus..."? Would that have been a slur against people with energy deficiencies (I can't remember what it's called), people with weight problems, people who are homeless, people with well endowed behinds, or persons with attention deficit disorders?

[lurky]

I always thought that jocks had thicker skin than this guy does.

That is the common misperception. The reality is that athletes are extremely sensitve when it comes to critics/abusers and their athletic performances.

[mabelkitty]

Wait until the Democratic NASCAR fans find out Jeff Gordan was allegedly thrown out of a homosexual bar.

You think this issue is RR only? Think again.

[Looper]

Greg,

I too was confused by the comment about Luzinski's driving. I think the previous poster to you has Luzinski confused with the "diver" Greg Louganis, who was one of the greatest divers ever.

[lurky]

His likely motive was, as I said before, to anger him and produce adrenaline

Another common misconception about sports and coaching. This tactic never works, despite stubborn efforts to practice it by some emotionally immature coaches. Example: the more Bobby Knight hurled abuse at his players, the worse they performed, and so he escalated it the point of complete psychosis and lost his job.

[marshmallow]

Jordan's ego is huge, he has high expectations of those whom he chooses to be his support act and he is not a warm and sensitive type of guy.

Brown came straight from high school to the NBA, is getting paid the big bucks and he has been a huge bust.

Put these two things together and you have a train wreck looking for somewhere to happen.