Former Bulls Center Stacey King Blasts Fans for Making Jerry Krause’s Widow Cry: ‘I Hurt for That Lady’ | Video

Former Bulls center and current sportscaster Stacey King has harsh words for fans of Chicago’s NBA team. Former general manager Jerry Krause, who worked for the team for 18 years, was one of the 13 people inducted into the first Bulls Ring of Honor class at halftime on Friday at the Bulls’ game against the Golden State Warriors. Fans around the stadium booed when they saw his face on the Jumbotron, which King described as “just sad.”

Krause’s widow, Thelma, was in attendance to receive the honor for her husband — the reaction caused her to cry. When King came back on air during the third quarter of the game, he was audibly upset.

King said, “Chicago is a sports town and what we witnessed today when Jerry Krause’s name was called, and the people that booed and his widow who was accepting this honor for him, it was the worst thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

“I hurt for that lady, brought her to tears. Whoever booed her in this arena should be ashamed of themselves,” King said.

He wasn’t finished there. “That’s not Chicago. That’s New York, Philly. Chicago’s not like that,” King continued. “We don’t have a reputation of being that way. And whether you like Jerry Krause or not, that man brought six championships here.”

“He didn’t shoot a basket, nor did he get a rebound, but he put six titles up in this area and there’s a lot of teams that don’t even have one. And that was really classless. I’m disappointed in the people that booed. It was a sad thing,” King concluded.

King also said that he expected more from the fans. “Bulls fans are better than that. We’ve never had that situation happen. I felt so bad for that lady. She’s a wonderful lady.”

Krause, who was responsible for producing six championship teams, has been blamed by Jordan, Pippen and former Bulls coach Phil Jackson for destroying the Bulls dynasty in the late 1990s, a story the three cemented in the ESPN documentary “The Last Dance.”

Former Bulls center King also tweeted about the night. He wrote, “My heart was truly broken for this beautiful lady tonight. Mrs. Krause is one of the nicest and most beautiful souls that I’ve ever met and she didn’t deserve this treatment tonight. The look on her face when this was going on will forever be etched in my memory forever! Where has the compassion, respect and civility in people gone? We must do better.”

King continued, “She was still hurt by it afterwards when she went back to her suite and I was told she was so upset she was still shaking. I talked to her after the game and she was still bothered by it. I don’t care what anyone says Jerry Krause nor his family deserved that bs tonight! Love him or hate him but put some respect on his name! Jerry Krause put 2 totally different teams together and brought 6 NBA Championships to the city of Chicago! Remember there’s 10 NBA teams that still haven’t won a single one and we have 6…”

Thelma was in attendance to celebrate the team’s first-ever Ring of Honor night. As noted by SB Nation, the event itself was problematic from the outset: headliners Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were always unlikely to show up due to their ongoing hostilities (and perhaps the fact that Pippen’s ex-wife is in a serious relationship with Jordan’s son); Dennis Rodman was unable to attend due to a winter storm, something that could have been anticipated when organizing a major franchise event in the dead of winter.

The reality, writer Ricky O’Donnell continues, is that Krause was an integral part of a decade-spanning dominance the Bulls have yet to replicate in the years since. Krause is the person who brought in Pippen — he’s also the man who said goodbye to Jordan in 1993 and welcomed him back in 1995. He’s credited with bringing Rodman, Steve Kerr and Toni Kukoc to Chicago.

But the complaints against Krause, popularized in “The Last Dance,” were numerous. Pippen was offered an $18 million, seven-year contract when he signed with the team in 1991 — an impressive amount, but paltry compared to salaries that players signed at the end of the decade. But it was Krause’s near decision to trade Pippen in 1994 (which Jordan supported), and another almost trade in 1997, that soured the pair’s relationship.

The problems between Jordan and Krause seemed to have more to do with ego than anything else. In 1993, Krause told Sports Illustrated the reason for the pair’s animosity was simple: “I’m the only one who has told him no. When he had the broken foot back in 1985, I told him he couldn’t play. If we had let him run rampant, we wouldn’t have the two championships.”

“This kid has had his butt kissed by everybody in the world except his parents and me,” he continued. “If we listened to him we’d have [former Tar Heel guard] Buzz Peterson on the team! My goal is not to be his friend. My goal is to win titles.”

Jordan told the publication that the way Krause told him he couldn’t play in 1985 was the issue. Jordan explained, “He said, ‘You’re Bulls property now, and we tell you what to do.’ I was a young, enthusiastic kid, and that just made me realize this was a business, not a game. We never hit it off after that.”

O’Donnell also insisted that the bigger problem the team has faced over the years is owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who made Krause the face of decisions that he made behind the curtain. As O’Donnell put it, “Reinsdorf is the reason the Bulls have lost their status as a glamour franchise in the years since the dynasty ended while wandering the abyss of mediocrity. Reinsdorf is the reason his other franchise, MLB’s Chicago White Sox, are one of the most hapless and humiliating organizations in their sport.”

Ultimately, O’Donnell concluded, the Bulls lost the game to the Warriors, an ending that was “emblematic of the low-rent organization Reinsdorf has let the Bulls become.”

The sportswriter isn’t the only one who has pointed out just how problematic Reinsdorf has been. In August, the Chicago Sun-Times lambasted Reinsdorf as “an owner who doesn’t want to own up to anything” and accused the team owner of “sports nihilism.”

Some members of the family attempted to make the situation better. Michael Reinsdorf, the president and CEO of the Bulls (and son of the team’s owner), tweeted a vehement defense of Krause following the game. NBC Chicago’s Bulls writer K.C. Johnson shared a statement from Michael on Twitter.

“Jerry Krause is a six-time NBA champion and two-time NBA Executive of the Year,” Michael tweeted. “He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for his accomplishments and is an incredible part of our history. His legacy deserves to be celebrated and respected.”

The CEO added, “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.”

The post Former Bulls Center Stacey King Blasts Fans for Making Jerry Krause’s Widow Cry: ‘I Hurt for That Lady’ | Video appeared first on TheWrap.