In the modern age of sports documentaries, it’s common for the athletes, teams and leagues being covered to serve as producers on the projects. And while that was also the case with Michael Jordan and the NBA for the massively popular ESPN documentary series The Last Dance, the film’s director revealed this week that the league had just one scene it wanted cut from the first draft of the film.
In an interview on Pablo Torre Finds Out released Thursday, director Jason Hehir gave the details on a behind the scenes look at Scottie Pippen dissing Chicago Bulls executive Jerry Krause and why the NBA pulled it.
“The one thing that the NBA pushed back on in the entirety of this process was a clip where Scottie, in the locker room, they were joking around saying what they were going to do when they won the title,” Hehir explained. “And Scottie, I’m paraphrasing here, basically said, ‘I’m going to stick a cattle prod up Jerry Krause’s butt and give that a guy a heart attack,’ or something like that.”
The Last Dance director @jasonmhehir reveals the ONLY thing that the NBA made him remove from the documentary.
“The one thing the NBA pushed back on in the entire process was a clip where Scottie, in the locker room, they were joking around saying what they were going to do when… pic.twitter.com/Xv6sIGQXDM
— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) August 1, 2024
Hehir expressed how careful he tried to be around Krause, who he knew the players reviled. Hehir wondered whether audiences seeing how much Jordan, Pippen and the team disrespected Krause might actually make him a more sympathetic figure.
Still, the NBA felt Pippen’s joke was a bridge too far when it came to Krause, a beloved figure within the league.
“I included that in our rough cuts because I wanted people to see what this guy was going through day in and day out. And that’s the one thing that they made me take out in three or four years of doing this,” Hehir said. “It wasn’t like Michael calling people a b**** or anything, it was that comment from Scottie to Jerry Krause, in deference to the Krause family.”
Hehir then fast-forwarded to this year, when Bulls fans booed Krause at a Ring of Honor ceremony in Chicago and Krause’s widow became extremely emotional.
“I don’t feel responsible or guilty, but part of me is like if we never did this, then this poor woman wouldn’t have gone through what I’m sure was one of the worst moments of her life,” Hehir said.
So perhaps the NBA made the right call pulling Pippen’s quip. If The Last Dance soured fans on Krause this much without it, the league office had the right instincts trying to tamp down the Krause hate in the doc.
