Michael Jordan Demanded 1 Scene Be Removed From ‘Last Dance’

No sports documentary in recent memory made as much of a splash as the ‘Last Dance’ did a few years ago.

Not only did it provide an interesting window into Michael Jordan’s whole career, but it also had massive ramifications for him and his Chicago Bulls teammates.

Specifically, it was the final nail in the coffin of Jordan’s relationship with Scottie Pippen, though Pippen wasn’t the only teammate angered by what he saw.

This past week the director of the ‘Last Dance’ documentary, Jason Hehir, spoke with Bill Simmons on his podcast. In addition to revealing why LeBron James was banned from the series, he also admitted that there was one scene that Jordan demanded be removed.

“The only time we ever got pushback that I had to take something out was there was a clip of Scottie in the training room with Michael and, I think, Ron Harper,” Hehir said.

“… He was saying something to the effect that when they win the championship, he’s going to take a cattle prod and stick it up Jerry Krause’s a** and give him a heart attack. And everyone laughed and they were like, ‘Woah, you gotta take that out.’”

Why did that scene matter so much to Hehir?

 

“I was trying to show people all of the hazing that this poor guy endured and the way that audiences took it when it came out, was, ‘Oh, he’s s****ing on Jerry Krauss and making Michael the hero.’ that was never my intent,” Hehir explained.

“My intent was to show what this guy went through to keep that team together. But that was the only time and it was Michael’s people who led the charge, saying, ‘You can’t do that. He’s got a wife who’s alive and it’s enough, we get it. They hazed him, they bullied him.’”

The ‘Last Dance’ left a profound impact on the sports world and definitely reshaped Jordan’s legacy to a certain degree. How will the next generation ultimately remember him? An answer will emerge in the coming years.