Tag: Sam Smith

You have so many behind-the-scenes …

You have so many behind-the-scenes stories from covering Michael Jordan and those teams. Is there anything that you wish they would’ve included or that you hope they delve into during the remaining episodes? Sam Smith: I think they’ve done a pretty good job of raising the main issues. There were parts here and there where I thought some context might have been left out, like with the Pistons’ walk-out. I was there and I would have loved to have seen [this]: We were sitting in a group around Jordan and he just eviscerated the Pistons when the Bulls were up 3-0. He called them unworthy champions, terrible people, an embarrassment to the NBA… And it went on for, like, a half hour. It was just stunning. And I know that’s what prompted that walk-out because the Pistons’ players didn’t know about it until the next day, basically.

Part of the documentary also looked at …

Part of the documentary also looked at the book, “The Jordan Rules,” which contained information that described Jordan as being demeaning and borderline abusive toward teammates. Jordan said he thought former teammate Horace Grant was responsible for providing the writer, Sam Smith, with information, but Grant vehemently denied it. Among the revelations in the book was the rumor that Jordan once punched teammate Will Perdue during practice. Perdue joined CBS Sports HQ on Sunday night and confirmed the story, but said it wasn’t a big deal because fights were commonplace at Bulls practices (Video above). “He did, and I wasn’t the only one,” Perdue said. “That’s how competitive our practices were. That wasn’t the only fight, that was one of numerous. But because it involved Michael Jordan, and it leaked out, that it became a big deal. And the funny thing was, in that practice that it happened, we basically separated, regrouped and kept practicing — it wasn’t like that was the end of practice. Stuff like that was common, because that’s how competitive our practices were.

“ESPN never called me about ‘The Last …

“ESPN never called me about ‘The Last Dance,’ ” Peter Vecsey said. “It’s absolutely amazing to me that they could be that stupid. I had so many inside stories that were printed that they are not even going to address it. It’s amazing. They interviewed Sam Smith, they couldn’t avoid that. I was involved in all of that stuff [during the 1990s].”