I

CONQUER YOUR ANGER

He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and

he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.

—PROVERBS 16:32

n 2009, Michael Jordan was inducted into the Basketball Hall of
Fame. It was the crowning achievement of a magnificent career
that included six NBA championships, fourteen trips to the All-Star
Game, two Olympic gold medals, and the highest scoring average in
the history of the sport.
Ascending the stage in a silver suit, with his trademark single
hoop earring, Michael was in tears from the start. He joked that his
initial plan had been to simply accept the honor, say thank you, and
then return to his seat. But he couldn’t do it.
He had something he wanted to say.
What ensued was a strange and surreal speech where Michael
Jordan, a man with nothing to prove and so much to be thankful for,
spent nearly a half hour listing and responding to every slight he’d
ever received in his career. Standing at the podium, in a tone that
feigned lightheartedness but was clearly deeply felt and deeply angry,
he complained of media naysayers, and of how his college coach at
North Carolina, Dean Smith, had not touted him as a promising
freshman in a 1981 interview with Sports Illustrated. He even noted
how much he spent on tickets for his children for the ceremony.
After a few sweet remarks about his family, Jordan pointed out a
man in the audience named Leroy Smith, the player who had gotten