Craig Hodges blasts Michael Jordan for cocaine comments in ‘The Last Dance’

Hodges, who won two championships alongside Jordan, was frustrated with Jordan’s response and commentary when asked about what was known in the early 1980s as the Bulls’ “traveling cocaine circus.”

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Ex-Bull Craig Hodges, shown in a 2012 file photo, took issue with Michael Jordan’s comments about what was known as the Bulls’ “traveling cocaine circus.”

Ex-Bull Craig Hodges, shown in a 2012 file photo, took issue with Michael Jordan’s comments about what was known as the Bulls’ “traveling cocaine circus.”

Lynne Sladky/AP

One of Michael Jordan’s former teammates took issue with a revelation the legend made on “The Last Dance” documentary.

Craig Hodges, who played for the Bulls from 1988 to 1992 and won two championships alongside Jordan, was frustrated with Jordan’s response and commentary when director Jason Hehir asked him about what was known in the early 1980s as the Bulls’ “traveling cocaine circus.”

Jordan told a story early in the documentary of how he stumbled into a party where former teammates were taking lines of cocaine during the preseason of his rookie year in 1984. Hodges was not a member of the team at the time.

In an interview Tuesday on Fox Sports Radio, Hodges explained how that revelation could’ve negatively affected those teammates and their families.

“One of the things as players we call this a fraternity,” Hodges said. “So I’m watching the first episode and I was upset about the ‘cocaine circus.’ That bothered me because I was thinking about the brothers who are on that picture with you who have to explain to their families who are getting ready to watch this great Michael Jordan documentary event and they know you’re on the team, and now you’ve got to explain that to a 12-year-old boy.”

This isn’t the first time Hodges has disagreed with Jordan. In the early 1990s, Hodges spoke out against Nike — the company Jordan has been associated with since the start of his career — for unfair labor. He later criticized Jordan for “bailing out” and not using his fame to draw attention to social justice issues or speaking out about politics.

Hodges won the NBA’s three-point shootout for three seasons in a row while with the Bulls.

Read more at usatoday.com

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