Let’s be real. If you’ve spent more than five minutes on Twitter—or X, or whatever we’re calling it this week—you’ve seen the meme. It’s usually a grainy photo of Michael Jordan looking stone-faced, or maybe a shot of him laughing with a cigar, captioned with those four infamous words: Michael Jordan fuck them kids.
It’s hilarious. It perfectly encapsulates the "Black Cat" persona—the guy who would reportedly cheat at cards against his own mother just to feel the rush of winning. But here’s the thing that kndia trips people up. He never actually said it.
The internet has a funny way of manifesting reality. We want Michael Jordan to be the ultimate villain because his competitive drive was so sociopathic that it makes for great storytelling. We love the idea of the greatest basketball player of all time looking at a group of wide-eyed campers and deciding that their spirits needed to be crushed for the sake of the game. But if you’re looking for the transcript where he drops that specific line, you're going to be searching for a long time. It doesn't exist.
Where did Michael Jordan fuck them kids actually come from?
Memes are weird. They’re like digital folklore. This specific phrase didn't start with a press conference or a leaked locker room tape. It actually gained traction via social media, specifically through a "Choose Your Character" or "Parody" style of humor that took off in the late 2010s.
Basically, it’s a vibe.
The phrase became a shorthand for Jordan's legendary lack of mercy. Think back to the 2020 documentary The Last Dance. We saw him taking things personally. We saw him berating Scott Burrell. We saw the look in his eyes when he talked about B.J. Armstrong or George Karl. When that documentary hit during the pandemic, the Michael Jordan fuck them kids meme didn't just stay alive; it evolved into a cultural cornerstone. It became the mantra for anyone who prioritizes winning over being liked.
It’s about the contrast. Most superstars do the "charity" thing with a smile. They let the kid win the layup line. Jordan? Jordan is the guy who blocks a 12-year-old’s shot into the third row at his own summer camp and then stares them down. He did that. Frequently. There's actual footage of it. So, while the quote is fake, the sentiment is 100% authentic MJ.
The "Chris Paul" Camp Incident: The closest we ever got
If there is a "patient zero" for why people believe the Michael Jordan fuck them kids energy is real, it happened at his Flight School camp in 2016.
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Chris Paul was there. CP3, being a legendary pest himself, decided to bet Jordan in front of all the campers. The bet was simple: if Jordan missed three shots, the entire camp got free sneakers.
The stakes were high. Hundreds of kids were screaming, praying for MJ to miss. These are kids who probably couldn't afford $200 Jordans on their own. It was a layup for a "nice guy" PR move. A normal person misses on purpose. A normal person wants to be the hero who gave away the shoes.
Jordan didn't miss.
He went around the perimeter, hitting nothing but net while the kids groaned in disappointment. He didn't care about the charity. He didn't care about the "look." He cared about the fact that Chris Paul challenged him. In that moment, he embodied the meme. He chose his own dominance over the happiness of a gymnasium full of children. Honestly, it’s one of the most MJ things to ever happen on camera. He walked off the court with a smirk, leaving those kids with empty hands and a very valuable lesson about how the real world works.
Why the internet refuses to let the meme die
We live in an era of "load management" and "player empowerment," where everyone is friends and they all vacation together in the off-season. Jordan represents the antithesis of that. He’s the era of bad blood.
The Michael Jordan fuck them kids meme is a protest.
It’s a way for fans to signal that they miss the ruthlessness. When someone posts that meme today, they aren't usually making fun of Jordan. They’re celebrating him. They’re saying, "This guy was such a winner that he lacked basic human empathy in a competitive environment, and that’s why he has six rings."
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The Psychology of the "Winner"
- Zero-Sum Game: To Jordan, there is no such thing as a "friendly" competition.
- The Relentless Pursuit: If you give an inch to a kid, you’re training yourself to give an inch to Reggie Miller.
- Myth-making: Every time he denied a kid a bucket, his legend grew.
People often compare him to LeBron James in this regard. LeBron is the "I promise" school guy. He’s the community builder. He’s relatable. Jordan is the deity on the mountain who will strike you with lightning if you look at him wrong. The meme reinforces that distance. It reminds us that MJ isn't your friend. He isn't your mentor. He’s the guy who beat your favorite team and didn't feel bad about it for a single second.
The Last Dance fueled the fire
Before 2020, the meme was niche. After The Last Dance, it was everywhere.
The documentary provided a buffet of "I took that personally" moments. When MJ talked about LaBradford Smith—a guy who allegedly told Jordan "Nice game, Mike" after a win, prompting Jordan to destroy him in the next game—the internet lost its mind. Jordan later admitted Smith never even said it. He made up a scenario in his own head to get angry enough to win.
That is the Michael Jordan fuck them kids philosophy in a nutshell. If a slight doesn't exist, invent it. If the kids are cheering against you, punish them.
It’s sort of dark when you really think about it. But in the context of sports entertainment, it’s peak theater. We want our icons to be slightly larger than life and slightly more intense than what is socially acceptable.
Distinguishing Fact from Internet Fiction
It’s important to be accurate here because the line between MJ the man and MJ the myth is getting blurry.
- Did he say the line? No. There is no recording, no interview, and no verified account of him saying those specific words.
- Did he act like it? Absolutely. Ask any kid who ever played him 1-on-1 at a camp. He wasn't there to teach; he was there to show them the gap between a god and a mortal.
- Who actually started it? It likely originated from the "Black Twitter" ecosystem, where hyperbole is a language of its own. It was a way to narrate his highlights.
The meme has become so big that it has its own merch now. You can buy t-shirts with his silhouette and the quote. It’s a multi-million dollar irony. The man who is one of the most successful businessmen in the world—the first billionaire athlete—is now the face of a meme about not caring about the youth.
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The Actionable Insight: What we can learn from the "MJ Mentality"
Whether or not he said the words, the "Michael Jordan fuck them kids" energy is actually a masterclass in focus, even if it's a bit extreme. If you're looking to apply a (much milder) version of this to your own life or career, here’s the takeaway:
Stop seeking external validation.
Jordan didn't care if the kids liked him. He didn't care if the media thought he was "mean." He had a singular goal. Most people fail because they try to win while making sure everyone stays happy with them. Sometimes, those two things are mutually exclusive.
Understand the power of Narrative.
Jordan understood that his aura of invincibility was his greatest weapon. By never showing weakness—even to children—he maintained a psychological edge over his actual NBA opponents. They saw how he treated the campers and knew he wouldn't hesitate to ruin them on national TV.
Be careful with your "Brand."
The irony is that this meme hasn't hurt Jordan’s brand at all. It’s actually made him more relevant to Gen Z and Gen Alpha. It turned a 60-year-old retired player into a "savage" icon for a generation that never saw him play live. It proves that authenticity—even "villainous" authenticity—is more durable than a polished PR image.
If you’re ever in a situation where you feel pressured to "play nice" at the expense of your goals, just remember the meme. You don’t have to be a jerk, but you also don't have to apologize for being the best. Just maybe don't actually say it out loud if there are cameras around.
To stay ahead of the curve on sports culture, stop looking at official PR statements and start paying attention to how the fans narrate the history of the game. The truth is usually found somewhere between the stat sheet and the memes.