The Michael Jordan crying face meme has become a part of pop culture, being spotted online whenever anyone, specifically in the sports world, takes a loss in some form or fashion. Earlier this week, rapper Ja Rule sent out an erroneous tweet, thinking that MJ gets paid every time it is used. That was proven to be false and the Queens rapper was torn to shreds online.
Today, TMZ caught up with NBA great Charles Oakley, who is a close friend of Jordan, and asked him his thoughts on the meme, and he went on to share that Jordan doesn’t like the usage of the meme at all. The original picture was captured by Associated Press photographer Stephan Savoia, who snagged the flick during Jordan’s 2009 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame speech. Savoia didn’t even know that the picture had taken on a life of it’s own online.
Stephen Savoia:
“I just did some Google searches after I read your email and have not been able to stop laughing. It was the first time in maybe 40 years I had ever seen an athlete cry,” Savoia said. “There’s a real distinction between honest emotion and what we in the business call ‘jubi’ or jubilation. When a football player gets a touchdown, he dances, spikes the ball, whatever they’re doing, that’s not emotion, that’s jubilation. But emotion, real emotion, that’s a rare thing, and you stumble into it with dumb luck. Michael Jordan crying, that was a real moment.”
Some thought that the Jordan meme would die down come 2016, with the Mr. Krabs meme gaining heavy momentum but the MJ meme is still alive and flourishing, much to Jordan’s chagrin.
Respect: Complex