Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose Receiving Too Much Criticism for Latest Comments

By Casey Drottar @cdrottar19 on November 14, 2014

As the opening of the 2015 NBA season neared, many pegged the Eastern Conference as a two-horse race. The majority of league pundits predicted the winner of the East would either be Cleveland Cavaliers, revamped after a summer of acquiring LeBron James and Kevin Love, or the Chicago Bulls. The latter team seemed to be the more popular pick, merely because of their defensive abilities and the fact their core has been together much longer than Cleveland’s.

However, anyone picking the Bulls seemed to hang the same caveat on their prediction, an asterisk to imply they were proceeding with caution. Chicago’s success this year, they said, depended solely on the health of star point guard Derrick Rose. It wasn’t a leap to say such things, seeing as Rose had played just ten games in the past two years coming into this season thanks to surgeries on both of his knees.

Unfortunately, we’re just a few weeks into the season, and Rose is hardly quelling the nervousness about his injury history. He’s missed a handful of games already thanks to spraining both his ankles, and last night during a win over the Toronto Raptors, he left after hurting his hamstring.

As if dealing with a constant wave of ailments wasn’t enough, Rose ruffled more than a few feathers this week when he said he was concerned about life after basketball.

“I know a lot of people get mad when they see me sit out. But I think a lot of people don’t understand that when I sit out, it’s not because of this year,” he said. “I’m thinking about long term. I’m thinking about after I’m done with basketball, having graduations to go to, having meetings to go to.

“I don’t want to be in my meetings all sore or be at my son’s graduation all sore just because of something I did in the past. Just learning and being smart.”

These comments seemed to open up the floodgates, as many began calling out Rose for not being focused on helping his team. He’s already been labeled as injury-prone, but after saying he was concerned about being damaged goods once his career was over, he was then painted as greedy and, as at least one Chicago writer put it, dumb.

I don’t care about how often Bulls fans and media alike have been upset about the sight of watching their best player hobble off the court, the criticism Rose is receiving for both his struggles to stay healthy and the comments he made regarding them is ridiculous.

What is it about what Rose said which is so alarming and worthy of lashing out? He’s suffered two devastating injuries, one to each knee. He returned from an ACL tear only to lose another season after tearing his meniscus. You’re telling me, if you were in this situation, you wouldn’t be the least bit concerned about it?

Should Rose have maybe rephrased his initial statements about focusing on the long term? Maybe. I doubt there were many out there who were overly concerned hearing about Rose’s future meetings. However, the message was clear: I have two surgically repaired knees, and I’m already dealing with other injuries after playing just five games this year. I don’t want to be hurt the rest of my life.

Likewise, it’s not like Rose is just out on the court playing timid basketball. He’s still trying, still putting in as much effort as he can in attempts to help the Bulls win. If he was just floating around the top of the key, limiting any of the physical style which helped him win an MVP in 2011, then yes, there’d be cause for concern. However, if a player is giving as much as he can, and he ends up with yet another injury, this is no excuse to start hounding him.

I get the frustration fans and media are feeling. Their memories of Rose from the past few years either involve watching him being helped off the court or seeing him in his street clothes on the bench. His notorious apprehension towards returning too fast from his ACL tear didn’t help his cause. Not knowing how long your favorite team will go before losing their best player again is not a pleasant experience.

As we saw from Joakim Noah’s comments last night, Rose’s teammates are just as upset. However, they don’t see a player who’s not giving any effort, but instead someone who’s trying to figure out a way to both give his team his all while also trying to stay healthy. And, unfortunately, he’s struggling at the moment.

What’s surprising is, while the media paints him as someone who doesn’t care, they’re not putting themselves in his shoes. Don’t you think Rose is just as frustrated? Do you think he’s fine with the constant concerns with his health, with his seemingly impossible task of playing at full speed and making it through an entire game? If you kept suffering injuries at work as consistently as Rose has, wouldn’t you, too, be worried about how it affects your future?

Unfortunately, while you would think someone claiming all the injuries they’ve dealt with has caused growing concern about his future would gain, at the very least, a sympathetic reaction, more than a few in the media have taken the route of “just shut up and play.”

Again, I understand the frustration which initially comes from hearing a player who’s almost always struggling to stay healthy make statements which aren’t focused on winning a championship. And I know Rose is making more money than most of us will ever see in our lives. But, go through what he’s endured, express concern and then have it met with a reaction like “man, do you sound stupid or what?”

Rose’s trepidation towards being overly aggressive on the court out of fear of another injury doesn’t mean he’s soft. His concerns about making sure he isn’t a hobbled shell of what he used to be once he’s done playing basketball doesn’t mean he’s greedy.

It means he’s human.

Casey Drottar is a Featured Columnist for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter @CDrottar19 or “Like” him on Facebook