Michael Jordan criticized again in ‘The Last Dance’ aftermath

“The Last Dance” is over, but critiques of its main character are not. Former NBA player and ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins became one of the latest to speak out on how the ESPN documentary shed light on Michael Jordan bullying his teammates, who were often left being negatively portrayed at his expense. “When you look …

“The Last Dance” is over, but critiques of its main character are not.

Former NBA player and ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins became one of the latest to speak out on how the ESPN documentary shed light on Michael Jordan bullying his teammates, who were often left being negatively portrayed at his expense.

“When you look at ‘The Last Dance,’ the whole documentary, it made Michael Jordan look like a superhero, and it made everybody else look like a villain,” Perkins said last week on ESPN’s “The Jump.”

“Michael Jordan broke every player code imaginable… Some of the things he was saying with Scott Burrell, saying that he was in the club every night,” said Perkins, who did not play with Jordan during his career. “Talking about what Horace Grant said about guys doing drugs, everyone except for him (Jordan). And then, ‘The Last Dance’ hurt Scottie Pippen. People today are looking at Scottie Pippen like a selfish individual.

“At the end of the day, ‘The Last Dance’ was to praise Mike — which it should have been — but you didn’t have to tear down other people to praise your greatness, because your greatness alone speaks volumes for itself.”

Pippen was reportedly “livid” with how he was depicted in the 10-part docu-series, which highlighted how he delayed his ankle surgery ahead of the 1997-98 season because of a contract dispute and refused to enter the final play of Game 3 against the Knicks in the 1994 playoffs due to the shot not going to him.

Grant has also slammed Jordan, calling him a “snitch” for talking about his teammates getting caught up with cocaine, weed and women when he was a rookie. Burrell, meanwhile, took a verbal beating from Jordan in old clips throughout the documentary, though he has since come out and praised Jordan as a teammate.

“There’s certain things, as a player, that you’re supposed to take to your grave with you,” said Perkins, who won a championship with the Celtics. “I don’t care if it was 50 years down the line. … When you go to the arena or you go to the practice facility, to a lot of athletes, that’s your sanctuary. You’re able to go and talk about different personal problems and that’s not supposed to go nowhere.”