Back in 1998, the sporting world was in the midst of experiencing something wonderful.
It was the era of the Chicago Bulls, and just about everyone who liked sports took a passing interest in what was happening in the NBA. Michael Jordan had returned from his self-imposed basketball exile and led the Bulls to two-straight NBA titles and was gunning for a third. With Toni Kukoc and Scott Pippen on his flanks, the Bulls were on the cusp of making history,
But Dennis Rodman needed time.
He was a different cat, Rodman – cut from a strange cloth.
Years prior, he was sent packing from the San Antonio Spurs, where his personality clashed with the straight-laced David Robinson, and there were many questions about whether he could fit in again with a championship team. His two prior titles in Detroit came as part of a team that had taken the Bulls down – the Bad Boys. It fit with the Rodman personality – tough, rugged, and led by someone who would be a father figure to him, Chuck Daly. And when I say they took the Bulls down, I meant physically. They hammered the Bulls relentlessly. So much so, some of his new Chicago teammates were not too pleased when he joined their team.
And now, as the Bulls closed in on an historic second three-peat, Rodman looked to derail them again.
Not on purpose – never on purpose. Dennis Rodman did not go out of his way to undermine the team, but he did feel an overwhelming desire to do something different, away from the constant pressure cooker of the NBA Finals.
He needed to be himself.
He needed to get out of there.
He needed Vegas.
And Chicago coach, Phil Jackson, let him go.
It takes a brave man to allow a player on the edge the opportunity to fall off it, but Jackson was a thinker, a people-person, and he understood that to confine Rodman and expect him to do as others did, was to court disaster.
He saw what happened in San Antonio. He saw who Dennis Rodman was. Furthermore, he may have liked to think he understood him.
In the end, Rodman went on his bender, and a quick flight out to Vegas by Michael Jordan brought him back to complete their run at the title. The Bulls would be crowned world champions again, and Rodman became a five-time champion, himself.
It was a lesson for some – different people require different things. People see the world differently. Not everyone fits into a system the same way. You have to be adaptable.
And as we have a media pack ready to tear into Jack Ginnivan at Hawthorn – and believe me, they are ready – we have to ask whether we’re seeing something similar on a smaller scale? Is Sam Mitchell seeing something others refuse to? Or is he giving Jack enough rope that the kid will hang himself and tarnish his career?
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