Last week, Rose said regarding sitting out games, "I think a lot of people don't understand that when I sit out it's not because of this year. I'm thinking about long term. I'm thinking about after I'm done with basketball. ... 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. [I'm] just learning and being smart."
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| I don't understand why he didn't finish the game. What a sissy! 1 |
Rose was immediately, vigorously, and almost unanimously criticized for his remarks by sports media and former NBA players, most notably outspoken Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley. The narrative generally was along the following line: Rose is paid roughly $20 million per year to play a game. He sounds like an out-of-touch whiner when people with less desirable and more physically strenuous and/or dangerous, occupations that often offer more value to society's basic existence and progression as a whole earn far less, some living paycheck-to-paycheck. For those reasons, he should never publicly complain about his physical concerns for his body.
Athlete envy grates my nerves to no end. Everyone is dealt a different set of cards and everyone has to manage his or her own life based on the circumstances and opportunities in his or her life. For anyone raising his blood pressure beyond a normal level from annoyance by an off-putting comment, my (likely unpopular) response is: tough shit.
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| There are cops who go to work on crutches. He can't at least shoot some free throws. If that happened at MY job (insert stupid, self-righteous blathering from a fat slob with no ambition and half of Rose's work ethic)! 2 |
The "controversy" brought on by the Rose comments has taken a life of its own. I could understand some rumblings by Chicago area fans whose patience as fans may be thinning from the former MVP's absence holding the Bulls back from possibly winning a championship. The nationwide "outrage" is ridiculous to me.
At worst, Rose is guilty of being a little tone deaf, especially after doubling down on his remarks later in the week. Rose is not a public relations or communications professional. He's a basketball player. He isn't paid to deliver well crafted, fan friendly statements on the fly when asked about his body and his career. The bottom line is that he suffered two significant, potentially debilitating injuries that robbed him of two years of his career and he is going to be careful. Whether he used terminology about being "sore" while envisioning and attempting to quickly articulate future situations in his life in which he could be in pain from aggravating his injuries or simply said, "I'm concerned about long-term consequences from short-term overexertion," is irrelevant.
Former pro athletes know that their bodies are their money makers and should consider backing off a bit. People in the media are fanning the flames to have a discussion topic and should demonstrate a greater depth of their ability to engage their audiences with their opining skills. Members of the public venting outrage through sports-talk radio and the Internet need to look at themselves in the mirror. If your job shoveling horse crap doesn't give you the options that Rose has from playing basketball, learn to play basketball and an elite, world class level or worry more about bettering your own lot in life You come across as pathetic.
I'm in complete agreement with Joakim Noah (comments in this clip). 3
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1) Image from www.tonyandtawni.com
2) Imahe from nydailynews.com
3) Video from www.youtube.com
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