Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

The next day, Yu Fei arrived at the Verizon Center for training early, as always.

Today he was alone, Lawson had gone back to Kent for some business, so on the training ground, there was only him, all by himself.

After rejecting Jordan's so-called "recruitment", Yu Fei needed to practice even harder, as only through this could he ensure his good performance on the court.

In the afternoon, a large group of reporters gathered outside the Verizon Center.

They demanded that the Wizards open up to media access, just as they had done a few days before.

But at that time, just after experiencing a 6-point night, Jordan needed to give the outside world a statement, but now, with two MVP-level performances, he no longer needed them.

And this was the Wizards' usual practice, they could choose to close their training sessions based on the needs of Jordan and Collins.

Despite the NBA's rules that the media must be kept informed and reporters can watch the last half hour of NBA team training, the Wizards' practice of closing their training sessions reminded people that Jordan was almost not bound by any league rules. Frustrated reporters have called the NBA office, arguing that the Wizards' closed practices violated league rules and should be penalized accordingly. But the response from Brian McIntyre, the NBA's chief of public relations, was always the same: "We will investigate the matter and ask them to comply with the rules."

Ultimately, nothing changed. The league never fined the Wizards, and Abe Pollin never intervened. In the end, the league's rules became meaningless. Collins and the Wizards' PR staff played the role of gatekeepers, keeping the reporters at bay. Not just reporters from out of town, even Washington's reporters were beginning to accept being excluded from practice. However, for the reporters who watched the Wizards team flout league rules, Jordan's supreme power and the Wizards' closed practices were infuriating.

Yu Fei put on the scrimmage jersey and found that he could not find Jordan on the court.

With a sweep of his eyes, he spotted Jordan leisurely active on the stationary bike.

If nothing goes wrong, he won't participate in this afternoon's training. This was his way of taking care of his body.

No one would say it was unfair, though it was indeed unfair in reality, but who would argue with Jordan? The man played 38 minutes a game with tendinitis, that was enough.

For Kwame Brown, Jordan's absence from the training was more like a liberation.

Yu Fei performed brilliantly in the scrimmage, leading the Black Team to a big win over the White Team. Collins gathered everyone, said a few words, and then let the players disperse.

This signaled the end of a training session.

Yu Fei sat down and rested. From now on, the players were free; they could continue training or leave on their own.

"Let us in!"

Yu Fei heard the noisy commotion at the door.

The person in charge at the door was named Alexander Nasser, who looked expressionlessly at the reporter with a goatee: "No."

"The league rules say we can go in!"

"No."

"I saw Frye there! And Michael, he's on the exercise bike!"

"No!"

A reporter from USA Today complained in frustration, "Is that the only word you know?"

"No!"

"The training is already over, why can't we come in?"

Their argument was so annoying to Yu Fei that he came over and asked.

Nasser glanced at Jordan, who was chatting with Grover on the stationary bike: "Because... Michael doesn't agree."

That was a very compelling reason.

Nasser was just a minor employee. If he failed in this task and the reporters found out that Jordan had been slacking on the exercise bike all day, who knows what stories they would concoct?

If things got to that point, Nasser would lose his job.

"Guys, don't make it difficult for Alexander, he's just doing his job," Yu Fei said. "The training is over, there's no point in you guys staying here."

Then, the reporter with the goatee quickly asked, "Frye, I'm Sam Smith from the Chicago Tribune, may I have an exclusive interview with you?"

Yu Fei didn't actually have time for an interview, but the reporter's name caught his interest.

"Are you the 'unforgivable scum' MJ referred to?" Yu Fei asked.

Smith's face twitched, "I suppose I am."

"I might have time tonight."

"Isn't your training over?"

"Theirs is," Yu Fei said, removing the towel from his shoulder. "Mine isn't."

Smith's opportunity-grabbing ability made his colleagues envious. Yu Fei turned around, and those reporters pleaded, hoping to catch his attention.

But Yu Fei didn't give them another glance.

At eight o'clock in the evening, Yu Fei and Sam Smith met at a Chinese restaurant.

Yu Fei agreed to Smith's invitation not just because Jordan disliked him, but more importantly, because this reporter was not submissive to Jordan.

During the Bulls' first three-peat, he published "The Jordan Rules", which stirred up a chain of suspicion within the Bulls: "Are you the mole?", "No! You are the mole!"

He was the first to expose Jordan's true character to the world.

"Frye, what do you think Michael expects of this season?"

Yu Fei chuckled, "The first question of my exclusive interview, and it's about Michael?"

Smith immediately got the information he wanted. Yu Fei did not like questions linked to Jordan.

"You seem to dislike Michael more than I thought," Smith cunningly said. "I never would have guessed that things between you two were this bad."