Chicago, a city that breathes basketball, emotions rushed high during the recent Bulls halftime ceremony. The special occasion that was meant to honor the Bulls legends that included the late Jerry Krause, took an unexpected turn.
Unpleasant boos from the crowd, directed at Krause’s representative, his widow, Thelma Krause, created a stir that echoed far beyond the United Center.
Bulls fans reduce late Jerry Krause’s wife to tears
In a special ceremony in honoring all the Bulls’ legends for their immense contributions towards the Bull’s historic legacy, included the celebration of the legacy of late Jerry Krause, the former general manager and architect of the Bulls’ dynasty. With former Bulls superstars Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman‘s notable absence from the ceremony, already left the event felt incomplete.
As Thelma Krause, Jerry’s widow, took the opportunity to accept the honor on behalf of her late husband, the cheers in the United Center transformed into unpleasant boos. The audible disapproval echoed through the arena, clearly moving Thelma to tears. This reaction from the crowd for Thelma wasn’t taken appreciated by the players on the court and other staff as they expressed their disappointments after the game.
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who was also a member of that 1995-96 team, expressed the same saying, “It’s absolutely shameful, I cannot believe. I’m devastated for Thelma and for the Krause family. What can we possibly be thinking? I’m so disappointed in the fans.”
DeMar Derozan, Bulls’ star forward, in a post-game interview said, “It just sucks their family had to endure something like that. You can never take away what he created. Without Jerry, there wouldn’t be the historic Chicago Bulls history. You gotta give him credit for as long as basketball is around.”
Bulls broadcaster blasts fans for booing Jerry Krause
An expected joyous celebration at the United Center was scheduled to immortalize the Bulls legends through a Ring of Honor ceremony, took an unexpected turn in to a episode of disgrace. In que to honor the late Bulls executive, Jerry Krause, the fans roared out unpleasant boos for the man. This dark twist only disrupted the ceremony but reduced Krause’s widow, Thelma Krause, to tears.
This wasn’t taken lightly by the Bulls broadcaster, Stacey Kings, who blasted the fans for booing Jerry Krause. Kings expressed his disappointment towards the fans’ unacceptable behavior saying, “Whoever booed her 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.”
Kings continued to defend the Krause family saying, “What we witnessed today when Kerry Krause’s name was called and the people that booed Jerry Krause 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”
Kings also rightly pointed out facts saying, “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 arena. There’s a lot of teams that only have one. That was really classless. I was disappointed in the people that booed. It was a sad thing.”
Will Thelma Krause ever recover from the trauma of having to face the boos from the fans for all the hard-work that her late husband has done for the organization? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below!
