Minneapolis Timberwolves Guard, Derrick Rose has apologised for saying his doubters should “kill yourself” on Monday.
Rose, 30, used the phrase twice after he was asked about the Timberwolves’ firing of Tom Thibodeau, who was also Rose’s coach at Chicago Bulls.
Rose had said: “I have a lot of confidence in myself,
“Thibs was just the coach that believed in me. I mean, he jump-started my career again and for that, I’ll always be thankful. But everybody that thinks that it’s gonna stop, kill yourself. It’s just not.”
Rose was clearly angry at the departure of Tom Thibodeau who coached him to being the league’s MVP in 2011 why the pair were in Chicago before Rose sustained multiple season ending injuries. Even more importantly, he was also the coach that gave him another chance to play in the NBA.
“He was the only coach that believed in me.
“Right when I got the call, I was in Cleveland practicing at Cleveland State, by myself, with me and my little guy Art. It was me and him in the gym, by ourselves, five days a week.
“I had a kid at that time, my baby girl. And no teams wasn’t looking for me at all. I was basically out of the league. And even coming here, everybody didn’t know I was gonna play this way. Like, [Thibodeau] believed me. I believed in myself. My family believed in me. And my little guy Art believed in me. And we got it done. But like I said, think that I’m not gonna play the same way, kill yourself, because I believe in myself.”
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
Shortly after, he apologised via Twitter and said his remarks weren’t meant to be be taken seriously.
“I messed up by using the slang term “kill yourself” today in response to a question about whether I can continue to perform without coach Thibs. I did not mean it literally and regret using it so I apologize.”
I messed up by using the slang term “kill yourself” today in response to a question about whether I can continue to perform without coach Thibs. I did not mean it literally and regret using it so I apologize.
— Derrick Rose (@drose) January 7, 2019