NBA: Goat is actually me

Chapter 71: Fame! David Stern's double standard moment!

"Kakakaka!"

"Crack, click, click, click!"

The live cameras were flashing wildly.

The photo of Meng Jin choking Larry Bird became the front-page headlines of major sports media the next day.

That's not all!
For decades to come, it will still be a scene that fans will talk about with relish.

The so-called classics are passed down forever
Fans jokingly called this Bird's Waterloo in his history of pretentiousness.

Even more than 30 years later, there are still fans who made this photo of Meng Jin strangling Larry Bird into an emoticon package.

The words on Meng Jin's head are: Life

The caption above Larry Bird's head reads: Me.

In this game, Meng Jin and Oakley from the Bulls were sent off, and Bird from the Celtics was also sent off.

Oakley took advantage of the moment when Meng Jin sealed Bird and punched him twice.

After returning to the player tunnel, Meng Jin also joked with Oakley. This guy is really capable and can handle things when encountering problems.

On the other hand, the boiled egg, although it arrived at the scene first, did not take any action and was trying to stop the fight the whole time.

To be precise, Jordan just wanted to take sides. He would not do anything physical as it would have a huge impact on his image. However, as the leader of the team, he could not not play at this time.

However, what Jordan never expected was that during the tug of war, Bird punched him in the nose.

In fact, Bird's punch was not aimed at Jordan. He wanted to hit Meng Jin and Oakley, but his punch missed.
So Jordan's nose bleed started flowing again.

The nose that had just healed seemed to be broken again.

After a simple bandage, Jordan returned to the court and led the Bulls to the final victory.

After the game, Larry Bird wanted to sneak out of the stadium early, but a large number of reporters had already blocked his path.

"Larry, what did Meng say to make you suddenly lose control during the game?"

"Larry, are you looking forward to the next matchup with the Bulls?"

"Larry! Meng scored 34 points and 10 rebounds on you tonight. How do you feel?"

"Larry, are you going to go home and tell your kids that you got beaten up by a rookie?"

Larry Bird didn't want to pay attention to these reporters until he heard this sentence.

"Who the hell said I got beaten up by that rookie?" Larry Bird yelled.

"Big Bird, but there are five finger marks on your neck."

"Isn't he injured?"

"No, the worst injury on his body is probably his sneakers. You accidentally stepped on him when the conflict just broke out."

"Fake!"

Bird broke through the defense again, pushed through the crowd and walked away.

Bird's nightmare was not over yet. After returning home, his wife saw five bloody marks on Bird's neck. Her first reaction was that he might have cheated on her.

Bird's wife didn't watch the game today and missed a lot of exciting moments. Bird had no choice but to explain a lot to her and almost collapsed.

The next day, Meng Jin got up, ate, and went to the training hall as usual.

He didn't feel any change in his life. As soon as he arrived at the training hall, Jordan threw him a few newspapers and said, "You are a hot topic now."

Meng Jin picked up the newspaper and saw that almost all the sports newspapers were discussing him.

A rookie exchanged insults with Bird, scored 30+10 over Bird's head, and finally choked Bird.

There is nothing more topical than this!
Peter Clausi, basketball writer for the Boston Tribune: It was a dirty game, a premeditated game. From the first quarter, Meng Jin took out Danny Ainge, a key figure in the Celtics lineup. I watched the game video repeatedly. This was not an accident. The Celtics had a hard time in this game, but they still had hope of a comeback until the last three minutes of the game. At this time, Meng Jin had a conflict with Bird again, and we all know what happened after that.

Mickey Lauren, a writer for the New York Daily News: No rookie has ever been so arrogant in front of Bird. Even Magic Johnson couldn't do that back then, but this guy did it. He has magic that other NBA players don't have. His talent is beyond everyone's imagination, and his heart load capacity is also. According to insiders, he and Bird talked trash throughout the game. What impressed me most about this game was not that he scored 30+10, nor that he choked Larry Bird, but that he dared to make that "listen carefully" gesture at the Boston Garden. That night, he challenged the entire Boston fan base on his own.

Bill Gleason, a writer for the Chicago Sports Journal: There is no doubt that we have witnessed the emergence of a genius. In the past, Bird had always crushed his opponents' basketball IQ and IQ, but this game was a completely different situation. Most people only saw Bird's explosive physical fitness and ignored his IQ and EQ. This guy played very smartly, and some details in the game even seemed like a veteran who has played in the league for many years.

Ira Berko, a writer for The New York Times: The referee was too soft tonight! He should have taken tough measures from the first conflict. His indecision laid the seeds for the whole game to get out of control. If the referee could have controlled it better, maybe the conflict in the last three minutes would not have happened, and maybe Meng Jin would not have been sent off, so that he could have had a perfect night of his own.

In the evening, Meng Jin received a call from his parents.

As soon as I picked up the phone, I heard the happy voice of Meng's father: "Son, you did a good job. I saw that you scored 22 points. The sports channel also praised you. Keep up the good work!"

22 point?
Meng Jin couldn't remember any recent game in which he scored 22 points.

"Dad, which one are you talking about?"

"It was the recent game against the Philadelphia 75ers. I watched the sports news!"

Meng Jin: “.”

I didn't know what to say by Dad Meng. He was talking about the Bulls' opening game.

After a moment of silence, Meng's father spoke again: "Your mother and I are going to the United States to see you." Meng Jin: "No problem, when will you come?"

"Be prepared to leave tonight."

Meng Jin picked up the schedule next to him and checked the next game.
piston?

Meng Jin: "Dad, I don't have a game tomorrow, please come back in two days."

Although the game against the Pistons has not started yet, Meng Jin knows that it will be a bloody battle.

As a son, I naturally don’t want my parents to see too bloody scenes, for fear that they will have some misunderstandings about the sport of basketball.

Meng Jin told his parents before that American basketball is very elegant. All the players are gentlemen who wear suits and ties in private. They play the game just to show off to the fans. During the game, the contestants will greet and encourage each other. The scene is very harmonious and loving.

If they see the Bulls and Pistons playing, won't they kill themselves?
The time goes back to one day ago.

645 Fifth Avenue, New York City.

The Olympic Tower.

NBA Commissioner David Stern held an emergency meeting overnight.

"President, what's the hurry?" asked Rick Weisz, vice president of media.

David Stern threw out a videotape and said, "Look at this."

The videotape contains Meng Jin's performance tonight, including choking Larry Bird.

To save time, they fast-forwarded.

"Shit, did this just happen?"

"Who is this guy? He choked Larry Bird."

"He should be severely punished. Bird is our face."

"Is this what you called us together today?"

The league's management chattered among themselves, and David Stern shook his head after listening. If he wanted to punish a rookie, would he need to hold an emergency meeting overnight?

This is the pattern of these guys.
"Rick, what do you think?" David Stern looked at Rick Weitz.

Rick Weitz is a young man that David Stern is very optimistic about.

"Two-game suspension and $5000 fine."

David Stern shook his head after hearing this, he was disappointed with Rick Weitz's answer.

Rick Weitz misunderstood, thinking that David Stern thought the punishment was too light: "Maybe we should suspend him for four games and fine him $10000. After all, Larry Bird is the face of our league."

David Stern walked behind Rick Weitz and patted him on the shoulder: "Open your mind and look at the characteristics of Meng."

Rick Weitz glanced at the screen again: "He can score, his play is entertaining, he looks like a superstar, and he's a yellow man."

Hearing this, David Stern smiled. Rick Weitz still has a future and he can understand things quickly.

David Stern did not keep it a secret: "He is the key for us to open the Asian market."

David Stern's original plan was to open up the Chinese market in 89 and then gradually expand the NBA's presence into Asia.

Meng Jin's arrival gave him hope of advancing his plan.

As Rick Weitz said, Meng has a strong scoring style, is handsome, and most importantly, has yellow skin.

In this era, it is harder to find a yellow person in the NBA than to land on the moon. Now this person not only appears, but also has great potential.

David Stern did not hesitate at all, after all, he had experience in creating stars.

David Stern said: "We have to increase this guy's exposure, increase publicity and coverage, give him positive publicity, a lot of positive publicity!"

Rick Weitz: “But he just got into a fight in his last game.”

Rick Weitz is well aware of David Stern's efforts in recent years to reshape the league's image, and violence on the field is one of his key targets.

David Stern: "That wasn't really a fight."

Rick Weitz: ???
Even with the fucking chokehold it doesn't count as action. Does Bird have to lie there for it to count?

Rick Weitz: "But he grabbed Bird by the neck, and all the fans in the stadium and on TV saw it."

Rick Weitz was also in a difficult position. He couldn't allow himself to say that something white was black.

"Then declare yourself tough, iron-blooded, and manly! Isn't this what your media department is best at?"

David Stern's double standard moment!

On November 11, the Bulls returned to their home court, and this time their opponent was the "Bad Boys" Detroit Pistons.

David Stern knew the Pistons' playing style, so for the sake of caution he temporarily replaced the referee for this game. Tonight's referee was Bernie Foye, who had never seen the game get out of control in all the games he officiated.

The president feels relieved with him around.

(End of this chapter)