Ex-NHL-star-turned-Barstool-host Ryan Whitney has revealed the brutal trash talk he once received from Michael Jordan on a golf course, as the six-time NBA champion even cussed at him on the putting green.
The 41-year-old, former defenseman recalled Jordan’s competitive nature during a round of golf to Paul Bissonnette, with whom he co-hosts Barstool Sports’ ‘Spittin Chiclets’ podcast, and guest Justin Thomas.
‘He doesn’t say a word to me,’ Whitney began. ‘We get to 17, it’s the 35th hole of the day, par five, I’m on [the green] in two. He’s dead.’
But then, Jordan hit a birdie to keep himself in the match, before Whitney missed his own birdie putt.
‘First thing he said all day was, ”That’s right, b****,”’ Whitney recalled.
Former NHL defenseman Ryan Whitney recalled his match against Michael Jordan on Barstool
Jordan – an avid golfer – was well known for trash talking opponents throughout his NBA career
‘So then we go to 36. I finish the last hole. Another press, lose that hole too. He’s like, ”A scratch golfer … B**** you couldn’t scratch my wife’s a**. I just left. I just paid him 10 grand and left.
‘I felt this big [holding fingers closely apart]. He’s pumping rap tunes the whole time that say his name in the song. I was like, ”What planet am I on right now?”
Whitney – a silver medalist on USA’s 2010 Winter Olympics team – played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Anaheim Ducks, Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers in an NHL career spanning from 2005-14 before transitioning into media.
Jordan once revealed that all the trash talk he learned was from another NBA great: Larry Bird
The NHL Network analyst wasn’t the only person to have been on the receiving end of Jordan’s savage trash talk on the golf course, as pro golfer Rickie Fowler was once dissed by ‘His Airness’.
‘I was 7-under through 17 holes and lost,’ Fowler remembered of his match against Jordan in 2021. ‘And he’s not quiet about it.’
As good as he is at trash-talking, Jordan once said that he considers Larry Bird to be the master of the art of foul mouthing opponents.
‘Larry Bird is the greatest trash talker and mind-game player of all time,’ the Bulls legend told The Athletic. ‘He taught me everything I know about getting in folks’ heads.’
