“The Last Dance”, a new docuseries produced by Netflix represents the chronicles about the last year of Michael Jordan’s playing at the Chicago Bulls. The ESPN collaboration has been a great success, as the sports media says: “It is a documentary about one of the best teams of all time, the Bulls from 1997-98, with Jordan as the main character.”
What is so remarkable about docuseries is the amount of unlimited access cameras have. According to ESPN Adam Silver, NBA commissioner, he knew how difficult it would be to break the privacy walls to document the Chicago Bulls: “That meant more than post-video game interviews and home videos of championship races. To do something else, Silver would have to convince the best team in the league and the best player in the league to allow the cameras to enter his inner sanctum.”
It worked, of course, but only because Silver offered Jordan full control, and that, according to the sporting medium, was something the NBA superstar absolutely wanted.
Jordan finally agreed to go ahead with the project, all while controlling the narrative, and the result is exquisite. But there’s a little problem. Jordan was not the only person documented and other Bulls players are really upset about their own representation in the docuseries. Also, some feel left out because they weren’t asked about their thoughts, especially former Bulls guard Craig Hodges.
Why is Craig Hodges so upset?
Mike Ehrmann / Getty ImagesWhile fans and audiences may be loving “The Last Dance”, some of Michael Jordan’s former teammates are unhappy with his portrayal in the new docuseries. An especially annoying person is former Bulls guard Craig Hodges. He spoke in a recent interview about The Uneven Pair with Chris Broussard and Rob Parker of Fox Sports Radio and said what was alarming to him, according to CBS Sports.
Hodges played with Jordan in Chicago from 1988 to 1992, according to the outlet, so he was present for everything Jordan talked about. Hodges said he did not like how Jordan called the Bulls team a “cocaine circus” when he was first recruited.
According to Black Sports Online, Hodges said, “One of the things as gamers we call this a fraternity.” He continued: “So I am watching the first episode and I was upset about the ‘cocaine circus’.” That bothered me because I was thinking about the brothers who are in that photo with you who have to explain to their families that they are preparing to see this great documentary event by Michael Jordan and they know that you are on the team, and now you ‘have to explain it to them to a 12-year-old boy’.
Oh! That is a fair point.
Michael Jordan called Scottie Pippen “selfish”
Vincent Laforet / Getty ImagesIn “The Last Dance” Michael Jordan was candid about life in the Chicago Bulls and also talked about other players, giving details that some people may have preferred to be left out.
Craig Hodges, in an interview for The Odd Couple, said he did not like how Jordan said he was “selfish” about Scottie Pippen scheduling his surgery in 1997 while they were in a “contractual dispute with the main office.” Hodges was also upset that Jordan blamed Horace Grant for leaking information to the media, and this same content was “reflected in Sam Smith’s book, Jordan’s Rules.”
According to CBS Sports, Hodges said, “So the Scottie Pippen part. Scottie was ‘selfish’. Come on man, come on. And then last night with Horace, that hurt me. I’m letting MJ know that that’s not right, buddy. Horace didn’t deserve to risk ‘Jordan Rules’.”
Hodges added: “If MJ knows anything else and knows Horace’s motive, tell us how Horace did it for my sake, because I am your teammate brother, just as they are.” However, that was not the only complaint. There was more than annoyed Hodges.
Craig Hodges was upset that he was not interviewed
Jonathan Daniel / Getty ImagesNow that The Last Dance is making waves on Netflix, Michael Jordan’s former teammates step forward to offer their take on the docuseries and add some voices to the conversation. One of those people is former Chicago Bulls guard Craig Hodges, who was upset by the things Jordan said that put the entire team in a bad situation.
While being interviewed in The Uneven Couple, Hodges added a final complaint that really bothered him: No one interviewed him for the docuseries. He said, “I’m a little salty as everyone except me was interviewed,” according to CBS Sports. To be fair, that would be a big hit, and Hodges probably feels pretty left out.
While the world seems to be in love with Jordan, especially after the release of “The Last Dance”, Hodges clearly does not share everyone’s positive opinion of Jordan and is offering a different and braver perspective on the NBA star.
