The Chicago Bulls celebrated their 1996 championship team with a Ring of Honor during halftime of Friday night's game against the Golden State Warriors.
The moment has gone viral on social media after Bulls fans booed the team's late general manager Jerry Krause, who served as the architect of Michael Jordan's six championship teams in the 1990s.
To make matters worse, the vitriol aimed at Krause, who passed away in 2017, was instead experienced by his widow, who was in attendance on Friday to accept the honor.
Bulls announcer Stacey King, who played several seasons with Chicago in the 1990s, expressed his disappointment for the fans' treatment of Thelma Krause during the Bulls broadcast.
“What we witnessed today when Jerry Krause’s name was called, and the people that booed Jerry Krause and his widow accepting his honor for him, it was the worst thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” King said. “I hurt for that lady. Brought her to tears. Whoever booed her in this arena should be ashamed of themselves. That’s not Chicago. That’s New York, Philly. Chicago’s not like that.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who played on the final three championship teams of the Jordan era, called the booing “shameful” and added that he was “devasted” by it.
“I cannot believe it,” Kerr told reporters after the game. “I’m devastated for Thelma, for the Krause family. What can we possibly be thinking? And you have to understand, when you hear boos, it’s not all of them, right? The fans who booed, they know who they are. To me, it’s absolutely shameful and I’m devastated by that.”
Kerr added, “Whether people liked Jerry or not, whether they disagreed with decisions… we’re here to celebrate that team and Jerry did an amazing job building that team."
