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I think it was obvious he was pretty sick. You could just see it on his face.
Just the Jordan/flu part, hit the link for the whole interview.
Jamal Mashburn On Doubting Jordan’s Flu Game, The Heat & Buying The Pistons
By Aron Phillips
Dime
After 11 years in the NBA, current ESPN analyst Jamal Mashburn knows a thing or two about basketball – both on and off the court. So when I had the chance to talk with Mash for an extended period of time, it was a no-brainer. From his All-American years at Kentucky to buying the Pistons to doubting Michael Jordan’s “Flu Game,” we covered it all.
Dime: Among the things you’ve been involved with off the court, you’ve joined forces with the Faces of Influenza campaign to stress the importance of annual vaccination. How come?
JM: There are two reasons. I have two kids of my own – a 14-year-old daughter and an eight-year-old son – so I know the value of getting vaccinated. Also, I played basketball in the NBA for 11 years and have credibility in that world, so I want to raise awareness for annual vaccinations.
Dime: How would the flu affect you as a player?
JM: Not a lot of people understand the lifestyle of the a professional athlete. There’s a lot of travel, dealing with different environments, so I always took a flu shot when trainer brought in a doctor. I never wanted to miss a lot of time for something that I could prevent. The fact that I was burdened by injuries was beyond my control. We shake a lot of people’s hands and don’t know where those hands have been.
Dime: Were there any guys you played with that didn’t want to get vaccinated?
JM: You saw a lot of that in locker rooms. There are lot of lots of myths out there, and from my own experiences, there are lots of guys who are supers ious or may not like needles. I always raised my hand and was first to go in there. On a team, not all 15 guys would buy into a team concept, let alone vaccination. It’s the nature of the beast.
Dime: Do you find it ironic that one of the most famous games in NBA history is Michael Jordan’s “Flu Game?”
JM: Yeah, it’s interesting. I got a chance to play against MJ and he brought an elite physical toughness and athletic ability. There are not a lot of people that could do what he did. People deal with the flu in different ways, and I don’t know if he had a shot or vaccine at the time. Even for an outstanding player, there are not a lot of guys that can play at that level under the flu bug. But we know how great he is. At the end of the day, what makes that game so unique is the timing of the game. It was a playoff situation, and that builds into the story. He is human, but he had an un-humanlike performance. He did what he had to do. It was a great game for him and a great game to watch, but if you ask me, it was a little bit more hype than anything. Was it really the flu bug? We’ll never know.
I think it was obvious he was pretty sick. You could just see it on his face.
Though it was the first time I ever saw a black man turn white. The second time was when the Bush Bros. took AlGore into the Glades and put his pants on his ankles in 2000. Bernie Shaw at CNN turned white then as well.
For the life of me I can't remember where I read it (could have been a Sam Smith article) but I remember reading someone saying they were speaking with Ron Harper candidly in a bar and Harper said Jordan wasn't sick in that flu game. He was just severely hung over from drinking and playing poker all night long before gameday
Was this sick game before OR after MJ served that one year suspension decreed by Stern?
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