Former Chicago Bulls player Horace Grant on Tuesday lashed out at Michael Jordan, accusing the NBA legend of providing a skewed version of the truth in the hit documentary series The Last Dance.
In an interview with ESPN radio, Grant, who won three NBA championships playing alongside Jordan, said that the acclaimed documentary had been edited to present Jordan in a favorable light.
“I would say it was entertaining, but we know, who was there as teammates, that about 90 percent of it was BS in terms of the realness of it,” Grant said. “It wasn’t real — because a lot of things [Jordan] said to some of his teammates, that his teammates went back at him, but all of that was kind of edited out of the documentary, if you want to call it a documentary.”
Grant saved his sharpest criticism for suggestions made by Jordan that he had been a key source for The Jordan Rules, a book that lifted the lid on Jordan’s career.
“Lie, lie, lie,” Grant said of the allegation. “If MJ had a grudge with me, let’s settle this like men. Let’s talk about it, or we can settle it another way, but yet and still, he goes out and puts this lie out that I was the source behind it [the book].”
Although Grant admitted to being “great friends” with the book’s author, Sam Smith, he said that he had always protected the “sanctity of that locker room.”
“I would never put anything personal out there,” Grant said.
Grant also criticized Jordan’s conduct as a player with younger members of the dressing room, accusing him of being physically and verbally abusive to teammates.
One segment of The Last Dance, which was made with the involvement of Jordan’s own production company, dwells on a physical altercation between Jordan and former teammate Steve Kerr during a practice session.
Grant said that he had refused to be intimidated by Jordan.
“[Jordan] felt that he could dominate me, but that was sadly mistaken,” Grant said. “Because whenever he went at me, I went at him right back, but in terms of Will Perdue, Steve Kerr and the young man, Scott Burrell, that was heartbreaking. To see a guy, a leader, to go at those guys like that. I understand in terms of practicing, you have a push and shove here and there, but outright punching and things of that nature ... that wasn’t called for.”
STILL IN THE HUNT: Rasmus Hojlund took his goal tally for SSC Napoli to nine as the champions cruised to a win at US Cremonese and stayed two points behind the leaders Inter on Sunday stayed at the Serie A summit after beating Atalanta BC 1-0 to maintain their slender lead over local rivals AC Milan. Lautaro Martinez netted the only goal of the game in Bergamo for Inter, who lead Milan, 3-0 winners against Hellas Verona thanks to Christoper Nkunku’s first Serie A goals, by a single point at the top of the division. The Argentina striker has scored in four consecutive league matches to end what has been a tricky year in positive style. “I ended last season in a lot of pain... I kept going during the Club World Cup and international
Algeria on Sunday became the third country after Egypt and Nigeria to qualify for the knockout stage of the Africa Cup of Nations by edging Burkina Faso 1-0 in Rabat through a Riyad Mahrez penalty. Defending champions Ivory Coast failed to join the trio after drawing 1-1 with Cameroon in a lively showdown in Marrakesh. Elsewhere, Mozambique ended a 39-match wait for a first victory by beating Gabon 3-2, while Sudan got back into contention for a last-16 slot by beating Equatorial Guinea 1-0 in Casablanca. Captain Mahrez converted from the penalty spot midway through the first half and Algeria then held on
Stan Wawrinka’s 40-year-old legs did not let him down over three-plus hours in his first singles match of a farewell tour yesterday. Three-time Grand Slam singles champion Wawrinka beat Arthur Rinderknech of France, who is ranked 29th to Wawrinka’s 157th, 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5). The match went 3 hours, 16 minutes. Wawrinka last month announced that this year would be his last on the ATP tour. “Today was a tough battle ... it’s amazing to come here for the first time, to have so much support,” Wawrinka said yesterday. “Twenty years on tour, you kind of always play in the same place
BOUNCING BACK: Antetokounmpo had just returned from an eight-game injury absence last month, leading the Milwaukee Bucks to their third win in four games Giannis Antetokounmpo threw down the game-winning dunk with 4.7 seconds remaining to lift the Milwaukee Bucks to a 122-121 victory over the Charlotte Hornets and grab a slice of NBA history on Friday. The Bucks trailed by as many as 16 on their home floor, but Antetokounmpo scored 12 of his 30 points in the final quarter to help seal the win in a frantic finish that saw five lead changes in the final 45.7 seconds. The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) added 10 rebounds and five assists. It was his 158th regular-season game with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and
RSS