When Michael Jordan retired in 1999, he reportedly resented Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf for not giving him an ownership stake and front-office control. Jordan also disliked Reinsdorf pressuring him to sit out games after a a 1985 injury.
Consider that when reading about Reinsdorf being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday, when Phil Jackson and Scottie Pippen introduced him.
K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune on Reinsdorf:He asked Michael Jordan to be there but the Hornets’ owner had a previous commitment. The Bulls Hall of Famer wrote a letter to Hall officials endorsing Reinsdorf’s candidacy.
“It’s very cordial, a good relationship,” Reinsdorf said of his longtime star. “It never has been a strained relationship.”
Never? I wonder how Jordan would describe that.
Jordan has expressed positive thoughts about Reinsdorf, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he put those in a letter. But Jordan is also known to hold a grudge.