‘A Flat-Out Disgrace!’ Charles Barkley Goes OFF on Chicago Bulls Fans for Booing Late Team Exec, Bringing His Widow to Tears

Charles Barkley called it a “disgrace” that Chicago Bulls fan booed late general manager Jerry Krause while his widow was in attendance at a game.

On Friday, the Bulls recognized Krause — who died in 2017 — during its Ring of Honor ceremony. As the United Center showed a photo of Krause on the big screen, the crowd began to loudly boo him. The screen then showed his widow Thelma Krause, who was brought to tears after hearing the crowd’s reaction.

“What happened in Chicago the other night was a disgrace,” Barkley said on Inside the NBA on Monday. “It was a flat-out disgrace. Having his wife cry like that, that was wrong on so many levels. Michael (Jordan) and Scottie (Pippen) and Dennis (Rodman) not showing up, that was wrong. It was a complete disgrace to the legacy of the Chicago Bulls.”

During the Bulls’ dominant run in the 1990s it was widely reported that Jerry and Jordan didn’t get along; and the release of the 2020 documentary series The Last Dance on amplified that complicated relationship. In spite of that tension, Jerry still put together a team — led by Jordan — that won six NBA championships.

“What those fans did to Mrs. Krause, that was not cool,” Barkley continued, “and everybody involved owes that lady an apology. Whether you like Jerry Krause or not, that man’s dead. Rest in peace. His wife is there and y’all made that lady cry and that was total BS.”

Barkley wasn’t the first member of the media to call out the fans for the gesture. Bulls announcer Stacey King blasted them on air just minutes after it happened.

Watch above via TNT