HOME / ENTERTAINMENT / TV

'The Last Dance' Episode 9: Michael Jordan's beef reminds fans of Karl Malone's pedophilia charges

Malone was accused of getting a 13-year-old girl pregnant in the late '80s

Netflix and ESPN's docuseries on the life of Michael Jordan, 'The Last Dance', is almost over and in the penultimate episode, the basketball legend dropped some info about his rivalry with Karl Malone. Of course, there have been a number of people who have made it onto Jordan's list over the years but the fans seem to have a special hatred for Malone nevertheless.

It all started when Malone won the MVP title in the 1996-97 season. "I'm not saying he wasn't deserving of it," Jordan said in the documentary. "All I'm saying is that fueled the fire for me. I said okay, you think he's MVP? Okay, fine, no problem."

Well, fans are seriously dragging Malone online with quite a few of them bringing up an old scandal from back in 1998. "I'm sorry but as great as Karl Malone was it just don't hit the same when u know about his extracurricular activities with a 13yr old girl as a 21yr old man... #LastDance," a fan wrote on Twitter. The "extracurricular activities" they're talking about is a scandal that broke out in '98 when it was revealed that Malone had paternity lawsuits filed against him in the late '80s, including one for the child of Gloria Bell, who was 13 when she gave birth. Another fan chimed in writing, "Karl Malone could never beat Jordan at blackjack because he was so used to hitting on 17 #LastDance."

Meanwhile, all the fans watching the show do agree on one thing. You do not want to get on MJ's list. The man seems to have found motivation from everything that ever happened around him and fans are actually wondering if he's just fueled by rage. "MJ became the best player on the planet completely out of spite," one fan declared while another fan tweeted, "Note to self: Don't get on MJ's list. #TheLastDance."

In any case, 'The Last Dance' has been quite the revelation into Jordan's life and Episode 9 added just the right bit of drama with the Malone rivalry, the Byron Russell rivalry, and more. But despite that, some fans still wanted a bit more with one fan commenting, "I’m honestly surprised they didn’t show Karl Malone missing two late free throws in Game 1 right before MJ hit the Game winner or when Scottie Pippen said 'the mailman doesn’t deliver on Sunday’s'. Anyone else feel the same way? #LastDance."

'The Last Dance' airs Sundays 9 pm ET on ESPN.