Michael Jordan could be arrogant. He punched teammate Steve Kerr in the face during a practice. There were gambling and infidelity issues.
Things might have been different for Jordan in today’s world of cell phone cameras and social media — not to mention blogs — but the fact is a lot of people knew about those things at the time and didn’t care.
Amar’e Stoudemire told the New York Times there is a reason that LeBron James angers so many while Jordan is beloved.
“I think you have to conduct yourself in way that people can relate to you,” said Stoudemire, who led the Knicks back to the playoffs this season after the team posted its first winning record (42-40) in 10 years. “The more they can relate to you, the more they will appreciate you….
“Everybody has their own way of commenting on things, but I would have commented differently,” Stoudemire said. “One thing about Michael Jordan was that no matter how great he was and how much of a platform he stood on, he still related to all the hard workers out there in the world.
“I think LeBron is still young,” Stoudemire added, “and there is still time for him to reconnect with the public.”
By the way, Stoudemire said his back is still bothering him some, but it’s muscular and should be fine in plenty of time for next season as he getting regular treatment. Besides, he’s in the midst of a national Excedrin campaign so he’s feeling no pain.