Sports
Scottie Pippen Divulges Deep Into John Paxson and the Chicago Bulls’ Mistreatment of Him
One would think that a Chicago Bulls superstar, who played a vital role in the organization’s two three-peats, would be treated anything less than a legend. Unfortunately for Scottie Pippen, that was hardly the case. And somewhere his former teammate, John Paxson was responsible for it.
The two of them have won three championships together, and as teammates, they got along very well. However, when John picked up the role of being the vice president of the Bulls’ operations and general manager. When in 2003, Scottie Pippen refused a deal from the Memphis Grizzlies, so he could sign with the Chicago Bulls organization for two years and work alongside coach Bill Cartwright, it didn’t last.
After just 14 games, Paxson decided to fire Bill. Not only that, but Paxson had a lot to do with Pippen being treated badly. And thanks to GQ, who released a few snippets from Scottie’s memoir ‘Unguarded, we know his side of the story.
Did the Chicago Bulls exploit his name?
Pippen’s memoir clearly described how the Bulls continued his mistreatment from 2010-2014. “In 2010, when I was finally put on the Bulls’ payroll, I was nothing more than a mascot, trotted out a few times every year for appearances. I signed autographs and met with season-ticket holders, hired for mainly one purpose, to serve as a link to the glory days,” he stated.
Even when Pippen was finally given some meaningful work in 2014, like going to colleges for scouting, he would do all the reporting one but would never hear back from Paxson and the Bulls organization afterward.
WATCH THIS STORY: Dapper Labs, CoinBase, Overime & Other Smart Investments That Contribute to the $200 Million Net Worth of Kevin Durant
Scottie Pippen had no sympathy for John Paxson after apology
Fortunately for Pippen, Paxson did realize his mistake. Once John figured out that Scottie was upset, he reached out to him through text. In fact, John went a step ahead and even called to clear things out. Paxson said to him, “Pip, I hated how things turned out when you came back to Chicago. This organization has always treated you poorly, and I want you to know that I think it’s not right,”
Scottie replied, “John, that is all fine and dandy. But you worked in the front office for the Bulls for almost twenty years. You had a chance to change that and you didn’t.” This bothered John so much that he became emotional and cried. In the memoir, Pippen wrote, “Not knowing how to respond, I waited for him to stop. Why he was crying, I couldn’t be sure, and honestly, I didn’t care.”
Looks like Scottie became immune to it all after being treated the way he was. This definitely shows that even the greatest of stars at times don’t get the respect that they deserve once retired. Thankfully for Pippen, he is no longer linked to the Bulls.
The post Scottie Pippen Divulges Deep Into John Paxson and the Chicago Bulls’ Mistreatment of Him appeared first on EssentiallySports.
