Notorious hard-ass head coach Bobby Knight was the first one to make a Crying Jordan.
Knight, who coached Team USA during the 1984 Olympics, berated Michael Jordan following a quarterfinal victory over Germany and made His Airness shed tears.
Jordan's teammate, Sam Perkins, told the story on SiriusXM's "Above the Rim."
"Bobby Knight, he got after us," Perkins said. "He told Michael that's the worst he ever played. Now Michael's going to deny this, but he cried. He cried after the game, because of the fact that Bobby Knight told him, 'You should apologize to everybody in here.' I waited for my apology because I thought he was going to actually do it. But he actually cried."
Jordan and company would celebrate a week later as they won the gold medal before a home crowd in Los Angeles. That was the last amateur gold medal captured by the men's team before Jordan triumphantly returned to the world stage leading the much heralded Dream Team in 1992.
If Perkins' story is true, this makes at least three instances where Jordan wept during his career.
He famously broke down after winning his fourth championship on Father's Day shortly after his dad's passing. It was one of the most emotionally charged episodes of Jordan's storied career.
And of course, Jordan's eyes watered during his Hall of Fame enshrinement speech that led to the infamous meme.
- With h/t Fox Sports
