‘Worst Thing I’ve Ever Seen in My Life’: Bulls Broadcaster Destroys Fans Who Booed Late Executive as Widow Accepted Honor on His Behalf
Chicago Bulls broadcaster and former Bull Stacey King blasted fans at the United Center on Friday night after many of them brought a widow to tears by booing her late husband.
During halftime of their game against the Golden State Warriors, the Bulls honored Jerry Krause, who served as the team’s general manager for 18 years. In that time, he assembled six championship teams led most notably by Michael Jordan, who famously had little regard for the executive. Krause was one of 13 members inducted into the first Bulls Ring of Honor class. His wife, Thelma Krause, accepted the honor on behalf of her husband, who died in 2017.
As Jerry Krause’s image appeared on the area’s Jumbotron, fans booed loudly. Thelma Krause began tearing up and those around tried to console her.
Afterward, during the third quarter of NBC Sports Chicago’s broadcast, King told viewers, “I’m a little upset right now.”
He then let loose:
We just had a remarkable ceremony bringing back the legends and I’m telling you what. We’re– Chicago is a sports town and what we witnessed today when Jerry Krause’s name was called, and the people that booed and his widow who was accepting this honor for him, it was the worst thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I hurt for that lady, brought her to tears. Whoever did that in this arena should be ashamed of themselves.
That’s not Chicago. That’s New York, Philly. Chicago’s not like that. We don’t have a reputation of being that way. And whether you like Jerry Krause or not, that man brought six championships here. He didn’t shoot a basket, nor did he get a rebound, but he put six titles up in this area and there’s and a lot of teams that don’t even have one. And that was really classless. I’m disappointed in the people that booed. It was a sad thing.
Play-by-play man Adam Amin agreed.
“It left a little bit of a pit in the stomach for what should have been a really celebratory 15, 20 minutes, and that didn’t feel right, admittedly,” Amin said. “And I’m with you on that, Stace.”
“And Bulls fans are better than that,” King insisted. “We’ve never had that situation happen. I felt so bad for that lady. She’s a wonderful lady, and it was just sad to see her breaking down in tears. I just wanted to go out there and hug her.”
The Bulls lost the game 140-131 to fall to 18-22.
Watch above via NBC Sports Chicago.
