Mark Henry Recalls Putting Michael Jordan In His Place At 1996 Olympics

On Sunday, ESPN will begin airing ‘The Last Dance,” a documentary series focusing on Michael Jordan and his final season with the Chicago Bulls.

With Jordan being in the news thanks to the premiere of the documentary, Mark Henry appeared on Busted Open Radio and discussed meeting the NBA legend at the 1996 Olympics.

“At the 1996 Olympics, I was friends with Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, David Robinson. I knew guys personally. I went to the hotel with Charles. As we’re in the lobby, Michael walks up. It’s not, ‘Hey guys, how are you doing?’ It was was, ‘Who are you?’ I said, ‘Who the fuck are you?’ And that was the introduction. Charles was like, ‘Ohhhhhh.'”

Henry continued, “It didn’t matter (that I knew him). It was the [principle]. You don’t walk up to Mark Henry and talk to me like I’m some kind of peon. I was somebody in the world. Maybe I didn’t make the money you made, people don’t know my name, I don’t sell a billion dollars in shoes. But I’m Mark Henry. And if I wanted to snuff your lights out, I would do it in a heartbeat. Charles smoothed it over. The [Michael] was like, ‘My bad, I didn’t want to come across like that.’ But he did. Of course, he smoothed it over and said he wasn’t trying to disrespect me.”

Henry went on to say that Jordan quickly changed his tune, inviting him to the All-Star game that year.

“It was real cool then because he was under the microscope of his peers. They were looking at him like, ‘Why did you do that? He didn’t do anything to you.’ Now he’s talking to me with kid gloves. Not to mention, I looked at him like I was going to snap my fingers and it was gonna be like Thanos and would he disappear. I put him in his place,” said Henry.

Henry said he went to Jordan’s birthday party after the incident and things were friendly between the two, but they haven’t spoken since.

Henry was the team captain for the US Olympic Weightlifting team at the 96 Olympics, finishing 14th due to a back injury. Jordan was not part of the 96 Olympics basketball team, but was seemingly there supporting his friends in Georgia.

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