GIVE_WADE_THE_MAX wrote:Who cares how Mj was as a person. We all watched him play because he was owning the whole league. What people respect about MJ is his tunnel vision when it comes to winning. Mj was portrayed favorably in the media because he was an icon and every kid wanted to be 'just like Mike'. The public forgave him for whatever wrong he may have done. Fans looked up to him as a role model. They cult worshipped him. He could do no wrong. He became the new standard for excellence..
Kobe's problem is that he came into a league with an arrogant smug type of attitude that he would be dominant. He may have been right but teammates and fans were not ready for his cocky behavior. He also faced the Jordan stigma since Jordan worshippers didn't want to accept that someone could be as good as thier god.
Fans never felt beholden to Kobe. His arrogant attitude didn't sell well outside of LA. When he was starting to reach his apex he got hit with the rape accusation which blowed up in his face. He had no control to spin the story. After beating the charge his coach and HOF teamate(O'neal) left him.
PJAX writes a book describing Kobe' selfish behavior and how he is uncoachable. The public has just been less forgiving of Kobe. He lost some of his strongest supporters, outside of LA, after the rape charge. The big reason Mj isn't villified is because fans were attached to the hip of MJ and his record was spotless. He also had charisma and spoke intelligently in interviews. His buisness like persona also appealed to an older generation. Kobe's image is tarnished for the large public. Kobe just provides to much ammunition for people to dislike him. He's a great player and NBA fans know he has game. Whether or not they respect him as a person is a completely different issue.
No, the only reason Jordan wasn't vilified was the lack of 24 hour sports network.
If he said
"I hate being out there with those garbagemen. They don't get you the ball."
"They've got no idea what it's all about. The white guys, they work hard, but they don't have the talent. And the rest of them? Who knows what to expect? They're not good for much of anything."
"I know what's gonna happen. We'll wait until the last minute and then they'll say something like they couldn't get a deal done because of the cap or somebody pulled out at the last minute. It happens here all the time. I don't know why I'm surprised every year."
That would be on SportsCenter coverage three days straight, not including Chicago Tribune.
