Bulls celebrate inaugural Ring of Honor class; fans boo late Jerry Krause
Bulls
celebrate inaugural Ring of Honor class; fans boo late Jerry Krause
CHICAGO --
The Bulls celebrated their inaugural class for the organization's new Ring of
Honor during halftime of Friday night's game against the Golden State Warriors,
but the ceremony took a turn when some fans loudly booed Jerry Krause, the
former Chicago general manager who died in 2017.
The first
Ring of Honor class included 13 men and the entire 1995-96 team, which went
72-10 and won the NBA championship.
The Bulls
were missing a few key members from that team, as Michael Jordan, Scottie
Pippen and Dennis Rodman were absent from the festivities. Rodman was scheduled
to appear but had his travel plans canceled because of inclement weather. Both
he and Jordan submitted video messages acknowledging the honor.
"I am
so bummed that I can't be there tonight," Jordan said in a taped video
message to fans. "But I don't want that to stop the fun that you guys are
going to have."
In addition
to Jordan, Pippen and Rodman, the 13-member inaugural class included Hall of
Fame coach Phil Jackson, who received the loudest cheers of the attendees, and
Krause, who was general manager of the Bulls from 1985 to 2003.
Krause's
name was booed by the United Center crowd, and his widow, Thelma, who represented
him at the ceremony, was visibly emotional at the reception. Krause was the
architect of the Bulls' six championship teams but also was often blamed for
the disintegration of the dynasty that he had been such a big part of building.
Former Bulls
forward Stacey King, now an analyst for NBC Sports Chicago, said when play
resumed in the third quarter that he was disappointed in the fans who booed,
calling them classless.
"I'm
telling you what, Chicago is a sports town, and what we witnessed today when
Jerry Krause's name was called and the people that booed Jerry Krause and his
widow, who was accepting this honor for him, it was the worst thing I've ever
seen in my life," King said. "I hurt for that lady. Brought her to
tears and whoever booed her in this arena should be ashamed of
themselves."
Bulls
president and CEO Michael Reinsdorf addressed the situation in a statement to
NBC Sports Chicago in which he lauded Krause as "an important part of our
history."
"His
legacy deserves to be celebrated and respected," Reinsdorf's statement
read in part. "We were incredibly honored to have Thelma with us this
evening to recognize Jerry as a member of the inaugural Chicago Bulls Ring of
Honor."
Warriors
coach Steve Kerr -- who played five seasons in Chicago from 1993 to 1998 and
was grateful that the Bulls' scheduling allowed for him to be in attendance
Friday -- said he was in the locker room at the time but heard about the
booing, which he decried as "absolutely shameful."
"I'm
devastated for Thelma and for the Krause family," Kerr said. "I
cannot believe that the fans -- and you have to understand, when you hear boos,
it's not all of them. The fans who booed, they know who they are. To me, it's
absolutely shameful and I'm devastated by that.
"Whether
people liked Jerry or not ... we're here to celebrate that team. Jerry did an
amazing job building that team. ... And I'm so disappointed in the fans -- and
I want to be specific because there were lots of fans who I'm sure did not boo.
But those who booed, they should be ashamed."
Jordan,
Pippen and Jackson were at odds at times with Krause, one of the themes of
"The Last Dance" documentary about the 1997-98 season, the final one
of the Bulls dynasty Krause helped build.
"You
can never take away what he created," Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan said of
Krause. "Without Jerry, there wouldn't be a historic Chicago Bulls
history."
Added
DeRozan: "Family, friends that are still here ought to be appreciated and
shouldn't be disrespected."
Also among
the 13 Ring of Honor inductees were Artis Gilmore, Johnny "Red" Kerr,
Dick Klein, Toni Kukoc, Bob Love, Jerry Sloan, Chet Walker and Tex Winter, in
addition to the 1995-96 team, which was referred to as "the greatest team
in NBA history."
Chicago forever loves Phil Jackson ❤️ pic.twitter.com/11YayHVsPy
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) January 13, 2024
Chicago
celebrated the inaugural class at a private gala at the United Center on
Thursday before recognizing it in front of a packed crowd during an extended
halftime session Friday against Kerr's Warriors.
"I was
very flattered that they put it together around our game so that I could be
here," Kerr said before the game, which the Warriors came back to win
140-131 thanks to a big second-half turnaround. "We had a wonderful night,
not only at the gala, but afterwards, connecting with the team. A lot of
stories, a lot of fun. It was just a great, great night.
"In
terms of everybody getting together, it's probably been since a few days after
the '98 Finals, when the team broke up, and we knew it. We all got together one
night back then and smoked cigars and drank a few cocktails and told
stories."
The Bulls
will add to the Ring of Honor every two years, with the next class being
revealed in 2026.
Information
from The Associated Press was included in this report.
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