The Jordan Rules is a book by Sam Smith in which he followed the team during the '90-'91 season, in which they won their first of three straight championships, and follows NBA legends like Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant and their eccentric, transcendent coach Phil Jackson. Here are some of the surprising things you may not have known about these characters.
1. Michael Jordan Wanted to Open a Country Club that Barred Jews
MJ was as big of a golf junkie as he was a famous athlete and used that influence to get tee times at the best golf courses across the country. Membership, however, was something that always eluded him, as he found white-owned courses hesitant to allow a black man - no matter how famous - to become a member.
Jordan tried to join, and was denied by, a Jewish golf club near his home. A few days later, a teammate asked what he'd do if won the lottery. He responded: "I'd retire at halftime. I'd take my uniform off and just leave the court. And then I'd go open up a country club and post a sign that said, "No Jews Allowed."
pg.196 the Jordan Rules
2. Never Get Married to Bobby Knight, Obviously
Knight is most known for his acerbic temper, throwing chairs, and berating officials, fans, and his own players. That list also includes his wife. As Bull's assistant coach Johnny Bach visited Knight at his home, Knight offered Bach coffee. Knight yelled upstairs to his wife to put the coffee on for their guest, but she was bathing the children and said she couldn't. "It was amazing," Bach relates. "He ran up to her and started shouting that he had a guest there and she damn well better get him coffee and he's screaming and the kids are crying and she's running for coffee. The thing was, I didn't want any coffee. But after that I figured I damn well better drink it."
Yea, you think?
pg. 198 the Jordan Rules
3. Phil Jackson Predicted 9/11
Jackson was a flower child, psychedelics user, and compassionate thinker. When he became head coach of the Bulls, he shaved his beard down to his famous moustache, got a haircut, and played by the rules a little bit more.
He never lost his thoughtfulness, however, and during the Iraq War he made a poignant statement to his team, many of them, especially Jordan, who were very supportive of going into Iraq. In the process, he predicted the retaliation on America from Middle Eastern hatred towards America that would eventually strike the United States on September 11, 2001.
"Do you understand," he explained, "that these are people who will never forget, the people who lose their father or a brother or a relative? They or their children or even their children's children. Do you want to see," Jackson wondered, "your son killed someday in an airplane explosion because we've made Iraq a terrorist nation from what we've done?"
pg. 200, the Jordan Rules