Derrick Rose didn’t mean it “literally” when he said in this interview that his doubters should “kill yourself.”
The veteran guard apologized for his jarring message for those who do not think he will play well after the Minnesota Timberwolves announced the firing of head coach Tom Thibodeau.
“I have a lot of confidence in myself,” he said. “Thibs was just the coach that believed in me. He jump-started my career again and for that I’ll always be thankful, but for everybody that think that it’s going to stop, kill yourself.”
He doubled down on the phrase, saying, “Like I said, for everybody that think I’m not going to play the same way, kill yourself, because I believe in myself.”
Rose later apologized for his comments, saying he did not “mean it literally.”
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
