Minnesota Timberwolves star guard Derrick Rose doesn’t seem to be too bent out of shape over the firing of head coach Tom Thibodeau.
In talking about the shocking move one day after the fact, Rose lashed out against those who believe Thibs is the reason why Rose has turned his career around. Not only that, the former NBA MVP went pretty dark with his comments.
Later in the session, Rose also used that phrasing again: "Like I said, for everybody that think I'm not going to play the same way, kill yourself, because I believe in myself."
— Chris Hine (@ChristopherHine) January 7, 2019
Here’s a video of the comments.
Derrick Rose reflects on Thibs: “He was the only coach that believed in me… No teams wasn’t looking for me at all. I was basically out the league. Even coming here, everybody didn’t know I was going to play this way.” pic.twitter.com/IUTz7tEUPn
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) January 7, 2019
There’s legitimately no room in the sports or real world for this type of talk from Rose. He could have easily made his point without hyperbolically telling fans to kill themselves.
To be clear, Rose has had a career turnaround we’ve rarely seen in the modern history of the NBA. After winning the MVP under Thibodeau in Chicago, Rose dealt with six injury-plagued seasons. It had to be frustrating for one of the most-talented guards in the Association.
Prior to Thibodeau’s firing on Sunday, Rose was averaging 18.9 points and 4.8 assists on 49 percent shooting from the field. He’s a legit All-Star candidate. And yes, some of that has to do with the Wolves’ former head coach.
Even then, Rose could have taken a different approach here. Instead, he decided to openly mock a problem that has become a societal affliction in the United States and around the world. That’s not good for anyone involved.