It always seemed odd to me that after all these years have gone by and Chris Webber and Jalen Rose who were former teammates and both hold prominent roles on television (or at least until Chris was fired from TNT before the playoffs) never reconciled. This all changed after it was announced on Sunday that Webber was elected to the Hall of Fame.
“I love you my brother. Congratulations,” Rose said to Webber, on ESPN, before the five-time All-Star responded, “Jalen Anthony Rose, it’s crazy, man. And thank God for your beautiful, wonderful mother, ’cause you know what she did for me.”
Chris and Jalen are both from Detroit and become big-time figures in the Detroit basketball scene. Chris rose to prominence at Birmingham Detroit Country Day; while Jalen made his way into the Basketball world from Detroit Southwestern. Despite the recent reunion, many are wondering why the two were beefing with each other in the first place.
Just a small clip of Jalen Rose and Chris Webber talking about Webber joining the Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2021. So happy to hear these two taking again, still so much love between them. This is the positivity I'm here for on a Sunday. #HallofFame2021 #NBACountdown pic.twitter.com/hYKsBVan5B
— Curtis Sheehan (@CurtisSheehan) May 16, 2021
The beef between the two all started back in 2003 when Chris pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal contempt in 2003 involving a case with Ed Martin who was a booster for the Michigan program. During his court appearance, Chris admitted to giving $38,200 to Ed in 1994 as a repayment of a loan that was given to him throughout the course of his time as a high school star and at Michigan.
As a result, the NCAA doing what they do best banned Chris from having any association with the university for 10 years and the Fab Five had all their wins stripped from the record books.
The beef intensified as Chris refused to take part in the ESPN 30 for 30 on the legendary team.
Watch a video down below from SB Nation explaining the full scope of Roses’ and Webbers’ beef.