Leave Jerry Krause Alone
He’s not the villain we deserve, or the villain we need. Probably because he’s not a villain at all.
Spring is supposed to be ripe with regular sports, but with the cancelation of March Madness and the suspension of the NBA, NHL, and MLB regular seasons, sports fans have resorted to watching reruns of old games and documentaries about our favorite athletes. So when ESPN announced they were releasing “The Last Dance” in April instead of June, the entire sports world dropped to its knees and rejoiced. This behind-the-scenes documentary about the Jordan-era Chicago Bulls was scheduled to come out in June, but ESPN decided to release the miniseries early to appease our nation of stir-crazy sports fans.
Over the years, stories about Michael Jordan have become folklore, whether it be the infamous “Flu Game” or his omission from the varsity basketball team in high school. At this point, Michael Jordan is more a hero of sports mythology than he is a former athlete. And if MJ is the hero of this series, then Jerry Krause is his sworn enemy.
Krause was the general manager of the Chicago Bulls during their dynastic run in the nineties. Several individuals in the documentary claim Krause was at the root of the issues that plagued the team. His decision to remove Phil Jackson as head coach after the 97–98 season drove Michael Jordan away from the team and ultimately put an abrupt end to one of the greatest championship runs in the history of sports. Krause also grossly underpaid Scottie Pippen, despite Pippen’s status as one of the league’s top scorers and defenders.
Look, were these irrational decisions? Absolutely. Did these decisions show a blatant disregard for their dedication to the team? For sure. But none of these decisions make Krause a villain. Whether you like him or not, Jerry Krause was an integral part of the dynasty’s success. I would even argue that the Bulls wouldn’t have achieved the same level of success without him.
Don’t believe me? Here are some of the moves Krause made during his career:
- Traded for a rookie from University of Central Arkansas on draft night (Scottie Pippen)
- Hired a coach who was working in the CBA in Albany (Phil Jackson)
- Traded with the Spurs for a bizarre and enigmatic character who once played for Chicago’s most hated rival, the Detroit Pistons (Dennis Rodman)
Krause found all of these diamonds in the rough and recognized the immense value each of them would bring to his organization. On top of that, he allowed all of these unique, larger-than-life personalities to be themselves. He didn’t stop Dennis Rodman from taking his infamous 48-hour vacation to Las Vegas in the middle of the season; he didn’t shut down Phil Jackson when he brought Zen buddhism and meditation techniques into practice; and any basketball fan knows Michael Jordan wasn’t always the easiest teammate to work with. Krause was managing eccentric, intense personalities for his entire tenure, and not once did he try to squander them. He let them run free, even if that meant running to Nevada to take kamikaze shots and have sex with Carmen Electra.
The villain of any story usually has an agenda opposite to that of the hero. But there was no ulterior motive with Jerry Krause. He was a manager through and through, and his management philosophy was simple: organization first, players second. Unfortunately for Jerry Krause, he worked in the NBA, a league which has always emphasized the importance of players’ rights and individuality more than any other in professional sports. Was he trying to covertly sabotage the Chicago Bulls? Hell no. His management style just never fit the culture of the league in which he worked.
Even as a Krause supporter, I can’t help but wonder why he chose to get rid of Phil Jackson, even if it meant losing Michael Jordan. I feel like there had to be some sort of Napoleon complex at play. Jerry was a fat, dorky-looking little guy working alongside professional athletes. There’s no doubt in my mind he got picked on when he was growing up. Hell, there’s even footage of Michael Jordan picking on him for his weight and height in the documentary. The guy clearly had some issues with self-confidence, and it messed him up to the point where he would use his power simply because he had it.
Jerry Krause messed up. There’s no doubt about it. He set an expiration date on the greatest basketball team in history, and Chicago might never forgive him for that. But when you look at Jerry’s contributions to the Bulls (which are all outlined in “The Last Dance”), it’s difficult to view him as the villain of the story, even though that’s how ESPN has tried to paint him. He put together a team that won six rings in seven years. Six. Rings. Chicago had never won a ring before Krause’s tenure, and they haven’t won a ring since. He orchestrated a dynasty and gave his city a team remarked in history as the greatest NBA team of all time. And come on, does this face look like the face of evil?
