NBA star Derrick Rose received swift backlash after he made fiery comments about his doubters and detractors on Monday.
Shortly after Minnesota Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau was fired Sunday night, the point guard, 30, told reporters less than a day later that the team’s decision to part ways with his coach was not a reflection on his own gameplay abilities. (RELATED: Former NBA Star Reveals He Struggled With Mental Illness After Returning)
“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,” he told ESPN. “But everybody that thinks that it’s gonna stop, kill yourself. It’s just not.”
He doubled down with a similar sentiment to a roomful of reporters again on Monday:
Derrick Rose to people who believe he can’t keep playing at his current level without Thibs — “Kill yourself”
(via @malika_andrews) pic.twitter.com/H1IA1JstH9
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 7, 2019
Obviously, the nature of these comments didn’t go over well with a majority of the basketball community and its fans.
As backlash continued to mount against Rose, the Timberwolves star issued a Twitter apology for those he may have offended.
“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,” he wrote.
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
The tweet has since received 13,000 retweets. And as far as we know, nobody took his advice.