Barack Obama given an ‘unusual’ title in Michael Jordan doc

Some viewers took offense to the titling of the chyron and urged the production to 'put some respect' on his name

The documentary, 'The Last Dance,' about Michael Jordan premiered yesterday on ESPN. Barack Obama was interviewed but was not listed as president. He was listed as 'former Chicago resident.'

Apr 20, 2020

The long-awaited documentary about the legendary Michael Jordan premiered yesterday on ESPN. The series, which focuses on the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls season, is expected to be 10 episodes of basketball greatness. 

READ MORE: Michael Jordan documentary premieres Sunday night on ESPN amid high anticipation

The series will debut on ESPN weekly, with a release to Netflix the day after airing. The Last Dance was originally scheduled to be released in June of 2020 after the NBA finals, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, Netflix pushed the date up releasing this statement: “As society navigates this time without live sports, viewers are still looking to the sports world to escape and enjoy a collective experience.”

And what a collective experience it is. The first two episodes aired last night and Twitter lit up with excitement. Many sports fans and influencers were interviewed for the special, including one of the Bulls’ biggest fans.

During his interview, Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, was listed as “former Chicago resident” in his title card.

Many wondered why our Forever POTUS would be listed as just a “former Chicago resident.”

One viewer was extremely offended and reprimanded the production saying, “Put some respect on my president!”


Director Jason Hehir explained the interesting chyron choice to The Athletic: 

“I was pretty adamant that we don’t have people in here who don’t have an organic connection to the story. I think the temptation is because Michael was super famous, let’s get as many super famous people in here as possible.”

Hehir explains that he didn’t want to include famous people just because they were famous. Instead, he included them for their direct connection to the story. So, Obama was not President when Jordan played his final season with the Bulls, but he was a Chicago resident and that was his connection to the story. 

READ MORE: Viral LeBron James and Michael Jordan photo has fans searching for video footage

Bill Clinton was also listed as “former Arkansas governor,” because during the time he was being interviewed about he wasn’t the 42nd President of the United States. He was the Governor of Arkansas when Scottie Pippen played at the University of Central Arkansas. 

While we get and respect the artistry of director Hehir, still that’s our President. We agree with the folk, put some respect on his name. 

 The Last Dance airs weekly on Sunday nights on ESPN and the next day on Netflix. 

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