Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose made headlines this week when he said his decision to sit out games was about keeping himself healthy for the future. Some criticized him shortly after, but the former MVP made it clear: he doesn't care what people think about him.
After suffering two major knee injuries in three years, Rose is now concerned about maintaining the longevity of his career. He sprained both of his ankles earlier in the season, and he's missed a number of games already. Rose said he's being cautious because he wants to lookout for his long-term health, which he received some criticism for - something that doesn't bother him.
"No," Rose said Thursday when asked if he understood why people were upset by his comments, according to ESPN. "No, but I could [not] care less. ... Really, I was just being myself. As long as I'm being myself, that's the only person I can be, and that's about it. But as far as saying anything, blame me for thinking about the future, I'll probably think different, but that's all I was doing."
Some questioned Rose's dedication to the team, something he admitted somewhat bothered him.
"Yeah, to a certain degree," he said. "Of course it's going to happen, but at the same time, I can't do anything about it. I just got to let God handle that and just put every performance and every article behind me every day."
Rose made his original remarks on Tuesday when a reporter asked him how satisfied he felt with his game.
"I'm good, man," Rose said, via ESPN. "I felt like I've been managing myself pretty good. I know a lot of people get mad when they see me sit out or whatever, but 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. 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 to be smart."
Rose is expected to play Thursday against the Toronto Raptors.
