ESPN’s “The Last Dance” documentary has shined a light on the drama that surrounded the 1990s Chicago Bulls dynasty. It turns out it has also created some new controversy, too.
According to David Kaplan of ESPN 1000, Scottie Pippen is furious with Michael Jordan over how he was portrayed in the documentary.
According to @thekapman, Scottie Pippen is "so angry" at Michael Jordan on how he was portrayed in the Last Dance. "He is beyond livid."
(Via ESPN 1000’s Kap and Company)
— Daniel Greenberg (@ChiSportUpdates) May 20, 2020
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard this. ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan wrote in early May that Pippen was “wounded and disappointed” by how the series made him look.
The documentary largely focused on Jordan as its centerpiece, which is understandable. Pippen was shown showing up late for a season because he didn’t want to get surgery over the offseason, which Jordan branded as “selfish.” Pippen was made to look bad for struggling in a playoff game due to a migraine. The documentary also took an in-depth look at Pippen’s refusal to enter the final moments of Game 3 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals due to coach Phil Jackson setting up a play for Toni Kukoc instead of Pippen. Many focuses on Pippen were about negative events.
While Jordan didn’t make the documentary, he did have the final say over what made the cut. It may be that Pippen feels like he’s not getting his due and is made to look like he served too much of a complementary role to Jordan. Some of the comments made in the media probably haven’t helped either. Whatever the reason, the documentary certainly seems to have reopened some old wounds instead of healing them for good.
