Detroit was in a state of jubilation, just like a festival, and the atmosphere was very good.
After being swept in the Eastern Conference Finals last year, followed by the violence in the locker room, the Pistons finally climbed out of the trough, and even climbed out of the pit of the bad boy army in one fell swoop, and stood on the moral high ground.
In the past, the enemies of the Bad Boy Legion were all over the league. They were the public enemy of the league, the evil dragon. When the evil dragon fell, the whole league cheered. Jordan became a dragon-slaying warrior, and his reputation skyrocketed, while the assassin's reputation and historical status plummeted. However, In a game last night, they found that the positions of the Pistons and Bulls were reversed.
When fans saw the media crazily condemning the Bulls and Jordan, they went crazy with joy.
Zhou Quan's image among Detroit fans has jumped three levels in a row.
"I want to vote for Iron Fist, he must be in the All-Stars."
On this day, a large number of Detroit fans changed their choice. Originally, they chose the Assassin at No. 1, but the Assassin was injured last night and may not participate in the All-Star Game. Zhou Quan has now become their best choice.
…
"boom!"
In a hotel in Detroit, Jordan, who had not slept all night, was very irritable. He was sitting at the dining table and reading a newspaper. He only read some headlines but not the content. He became so angry that his liver ached and he punched the table, scaring everyone else. People jump.
He became a villain, an ashtray, and a moral villain, while the legion of bad boys he defeated became moral models.
But in reality, no one was hurt on his hands, and three of his teammates fell at Iron Fist's feet.
With nowhere to vent, he targeted Pippen, a guy who gave him the nickname Ashtray.
Staring at Pippen with red eyes, Jordan roared: "Damn it, you revealed it to the media? Who told you to talk too much? Is it your turn to talk too much about my affairs? You idiot!"
Pippen shrank his neck and buried his face in the plate.
As for the other players, they were all sitting at the dining table shivering like quails.
…
In New York, David Stern woke up, flipped through a stack of newspapers on the table before eating breakfast, and was shocked.
"What happened?"
Now he regretted going to bed early yesterday. He had a cold yesterday. After taking some cold medicine, he went to bed before eight o'clock.
"Hoke, what did the Bulls and Pistons do last night?"
He quickly contacted special assistant Hawk Houston to inquire about the situation.
"Mr. President, a total of six people were injured in last night's game between the Bulls and the Pistons. Among them, Isiah Thomas, Grant, Cartwright, and Paxson were more seriously injured. These four people will be injured for as little as half a month, and as much as one or two. "Month, B.J. Armstrong and John Salley suffered minor injuries, which will not affect the following games," said special assistant Hawk Houston.
Stern sat at the dining table and was stunned for several seconds before he reacted. He hurriedly asked: "What's going on? Is there a fight?"
"No, there was no fight, it was all within the rules." Hawk-Houston said.
"How could it be so serious?" Stern asked in confusion.
Houston gave an overview of the situation and finally said: "According to the rules, it is not considered a foul, even including Zhou Quan's breakthrough when he broke two of Paxson's ribs. It is not even a foul, but the situation is indeed very serious. serious."
"Did they appeal?" Stern asked.
"No, neither the Bulls nor the Pistons," Houston said.
Then he said: "Mr. President, there are two aspects that make the situation more troublesome now."
"You said it." Stern said calmly.
Houston said: "The first is the issue of Michael Jordan. Zhou Quan accused him of disregarding the life safety of his opponents.
Now the media reaction is huge, many media are accusing him, and even dug out the dirty information about his gambling and hyped it up.
If the public opinion continues, Michael Jordan's reputation will be terrible, ten times worse than Isiah Thomas's current reputation. "
Stern has a headache. The Bad Boys are a thing of the past. Jordan is the person he wants to admire and the brand he wants to build. What should he do?
Thomas is at most a reputation for beating a newcomer, Michael Jordan. This is a loss of humanitarianism and a completely different nature.
"Iron Fist, Iron Fist..."
Thinking of Zhou Quan, his head hurt even more.
It turned out that Zhou Quan admired Zhou Quan because he reconciled with Thomas and persuaded O'Neal to re-enter the draft, which stabilized the foundation of the NBA. He believed that this was a young man full of wisdom and overall perspective.
But then he broke two of the postman's ribs on the field, and now it's such a big deal, destroying the brand he wanted to build. How can he appreciate it under the conflict of interest?
Houston added at this time: "The second question is about the style of play. The league should express its support for Zhou Quan's remarks, otherwise it will shake our foundation.
That is to say, in our game, players should not ignore or ignore the life safety of their opponents.
This is the moral bottom line of society and life, and rules should not be above this bottom line.
What I mean is that law is only the bottom line of morality, and rules are only the bottom line of morality. Mr. President, on this point, I support Zhou Quan’s remarks. "
"I support it too."
Stern said without hesitation.
Houston said: "Zhou Quan promised in public at the post-game press conference last night that the Pistons would not play with the same intensity as last night in other games except the Bulls.
Mr. President, this attitude is commendable. I still think he is a young man with a very good view of the overall situation and a person with high moral standards.
Of course, he is a person who must retaliate. After Grant injured Thomas, he immediately responded tit-for-tat and injured four Bulls players. This kind of character is also very annoying, and there will definitely be various troubles in the future. "
Stern couldn't help but nodded. Zhou Quan's attitude of giving a promise in public made him appreciate it again. He thought about it and said: "Hoke, prepare a formal press conference immediately. Based on Zhou Quan's remarks, The outside world shows our attitude."
"Okay, sir."
Stern gave a few more instructions and ended the call.
He began to think about the issues between the Pistons and the Bulls. Zhou Quan promised not to play with the intensity of last night's game in other games, but he couldn't do it in the game with the Bulls, otherwise sooner or later there would be a player death on the field like a football game. He wanted to solve this problem.
"Honey, I have something urgent to deal with. I won't have breakfast."
Thinking of this, he hurriedly left home and rushed to the headquarters. He asked his assistant to bring the Bulls and Pistons schedules and order breakfast for him.
When he saw it, he was shocked. The 24th was the third regular season game between the two teams, and he only had a few days to deal with this problem.
