Stephen A. Smith says not to blind Michael Jordan with criticism

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It would make sense that Michael Jordan isn’t good at handling media criticism because he hasn’t heard much about it, but Stephen A. Smith says that’s not the case.

Smith joined Howard Stern earlier this week to promote his new memoir Straight Shooter, and during their high-profile chat, the First Take host discussed athletes annoyed by his ESPN commentary. Despite the notion that Jordan is sensitive to media criticism, Smith said the six-time NBA champion is okay, as long as you call him first.

Stephen A. Smith tells Howard Stern that Michael Jordan is okay with the media criticism unless you blind him pic.twitter.com/OHUQEzrWau

Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 20, 2023

Michael Jordan is one of those things, there’s a misnomer for him, Smith told Stern. People pick on him because they think he can’t take criticism, that’s not true. Michael Jordan will insult me ​​or someone else will come out faster than you can say your name, if you blind him.

If you call Michael Jordan, that’s how I feel, here’s why, he has no problem with you. Give him a chance to explain himself, and if he doesn’t have an explanation or can’t reach you, that’s very important about that.

Having to go through certain protocols before criticizing someone to avoid ticking that person off means they’re probably not very good at handling criticism, to begin with. The other problem with needing to warn Jordan before criticizing him is that it eliminates the ability to spontaneously criticize him.

Charles Barkley said the loss of Michael Jordan’s friendship was the biggest consequence of his media career. Over a decade ago, Barkley was in the middle of a radio interview when he accurately stated that Jordan hadn’t done a good job as an NBA owner. Barkley also claimed that Jordan didn’t surround himself with enough people willing to challenge him.

As Barkley tells the story, Jordan hasn’t spoken to him in over a decade because of this criticism. But apparently if Barkley had just paused the radio interview and called Jordan privately to give him a whim before criticizing his ownership tenure, the two Basketball Hall-of-Famers would still be best friends. today.

[Howard Stern, image from Cigar Aficionado on YouTube]

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