The only time you could probably ever see Michael Jordan show emotion was during his Hall of Fame speech, which has led to the infamous Crying Jordan meme.
However according to former North Carolina and 1984 USA Men’s basketball teammate Sam Perkins, this isn’t the first time Jordan has been seen crying.
USA barely got by in a victory against Germany, which led to head coach Bob Knight laying into a young MJ so hard that it got him into tears, according to Perkins.
“Bobby Knight, he got after us,” Perkins told Tina Cervasio and Tim Legler on SiriusXM NBA Radio. “He told Michael that’s the worst he ever played. Now, Michael’s going to deny this but he cried, he cried after the game because of the fact that Bobby Knight told him, ‘You should apologize to everybody in here.’”
Perkins said that it was a lesson for the young team, and Jordan was eventually consoled by teammate Leon Wood.
If only cameras were around to have a picture of that moment between MJ and Knight, as the Crying Jordan meme could’ve began 30 years ago.
As for Perkins, you can listen to his full interview about this below:
https://soundcloud.com/siriusxmnba/sam-perkins-reflects-on-his-1984-olympic-teammate-michael-jordan-feeling-the-wrath-of-bobby-knight