Controversy erupted in the NBA world on Friday night as the late Jerry Krause was booed as he was introduced as part of a halftime ceremony honoring the Chicago Bulls inaugural Ring of Honor Class.
One of the inductees was the 1995-96 Bulls team, which won a then-record 72 games in the regular season and won the NBA title. Two years later, the Bulls dynasty broke up, something Krause, as the general manager received a lot of blame for at the time.
Krause, who passed away in 2017, was honored for his role on that team. Only, when he was shown on the video board, he was audibly booed. The situation was made worse when his widow, Thelma Krause, was shown on the video board, accepting the honor on her husband’s behalf. The booing did not stop.
Naturally, this led to a lot of criticism. Those who booed were chided as classless, including by the team’s announcers — namely NBC Sports Chicago color commentator Stacey King. One man, though, is taking a different approach.
Danny Parkins, a host on 670 The Score in Chicago, defended the actions.
“I’m just catching up,” he said on Twitter/X. “Fans didn’t know Krause’s wife was gonna be there. The first name/image they show is Jerry Krause! Of course HE’S going to get booed. As sure as the sun rises in the east. Obviously awful for her but this was completely avoidable.”
I’m just catching up…
Fans didn’t know Krause’s wife was gonna be there. The first name/image they show is Jerry Krause!
Of course HE’S going to get booed. As sure as the sun rises in the east.
Obviously awful for her but this was completely avoidable. pic.twitter.com/UDJ2jR2Phg
— Danny Parkins (@DannyParkins) January 13, 2024
When one person replied that “The way you avoid it is you don’t be an ******* and boo,” Parkins continued his defense of the booing.
“Guys, booing is a part of sports. It’s fine. They didn’t boo a widow. Roger Goodell will be booed forever. You guys remember The Last Dance right? It was not very kind to Krause and no one objected at the time. Calling Bulls fans classless is ridiculous.”
Guys, booing is a part of sports. It’s fine. They didn’t boo a widow. Roger Goodell will be booed forever.
You guys remember The Last Dance right? It was not very kind to Krause and no one objected at the time.
Calling Bulls fans classless is ridiculous. https://t.co/xpl0dtCUfT
— Danny Parkins (@DannyParkins) January 13, 2024
Parkins makes some decent points, as well as some that are a little harder to digest.
One, this wasn’t a broad brush painting of all Bulls fans, calling them classless. King specifically referenced the people who booed. If anyone out there did criticize everyone in the United Center or all Bulls fans as being classless, that was wrong. It certainly was not all. It was just a significant enough group to be heard, even on television.
Booing is a part of sports. He’s right there. But celebratory ceremonies are — or at least should be — different. Case in point, Larry Bird was not booed when he spoke at Magic Johnson’s jersey retirement ceremony in Los Angeles in 1992. Johnson was not booed when he spoke at Bird’s in Boston in 1993. Those events took place much closer to the height of the Los Angeles Lakers vs. Boston Celtics rivalry of the 1980s than we are from the events of The Last Dance in 2024.
A closer parallel would be when Joe Lacob, the then-new owner of the Golden State Warriors, was booed during Chris Mullin’s jersey retirement ceremony in 2012. But there are two differences. One, the fans booing Lacob were frustrated by something that had recently taken place, the trading of popular player Monta Ellis. Two, Lacob was there to defend himself. Krause was not. Despite that, it was not out out of line to call the fans booing Lacob “classless” or to criticize them for doing so.
Parkins is also right about The Last Dance. It came out in 2020 and yes, it was not kind to Krause. But to say that nobody criticized it? That’s incorrect. It was a popular series, for sure. But it was criticized by outsiders and insiders alike.
Finally, let’s give those who booed the benefit of the doubt and assume that they did not know Thelma Sharpe was going to be there. It is certainly worth noting that the boos got quieter and the cheers got louder when she was seen on the video board.
Still, why is it necessary to boo Krause for stuff that happened more than 25 years ago? Especially at a ceremony? Krause broke up a great, but aging, basketball team. That shouldn’t require scorn decades after the fact.
But beyond that, when Krause’s name and image went up on the video board, who were the fans expecting to see in person? They certainly knew that Krause passed away in 2017. Generally speaking, when late people are honored at ceremonies, a family member is there to receive the honor for them. So, who did they think was going to be there?
Parkins is correct. The situation was avoidable. He’s even got a point in criticizing the Bulls for being tone-deaf about the feelings of their fans toward Krause. But to absolve the booing fans of any blame is off the mark.
[Danny Parkins on Twitter/X, Photo Credit: NBC Sports Chicago]
