Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose has received a vast amount of criticism for his decision to not force himself to return to the floor until he feels he's ready, but now has also received a passionate act of support from teammate Joakim Noah.
According to ESPN after the Bulls win over the Miami Heat Monday, Noah took an emotional stand of defense of his teammate and close friend.
"Derrick's a brother," Noah said. "And to see him go through this is tough, but at the end of the day it's really funny how quick people are to judge. But people don't know what it's like to lead a team, especially after you tore your ACL.
"If you tore your ACL and you have to be the starting point guard and have the expectations that Derrick has, then maybe you can judge, but everybody who hasn't been in that situation before should really shut up because I feel like it's just so unfair to him and to this team. We're fighting, and everybody's going to just s--- on somebody who's been giving so much to this organization. It's crazy to me."
Noah did acknowledge that he has spoken to Rose about the criticism, but made it clear he wasn't pleased with what he was hearing. Even though Rose has admitted to not have paid much attention to the criticism, Noah admitted that he and his teammates have and made it a point to stand by their teammates decision.
"He can say that he doesn't (listen to it)," Noah said. "I think he's dealing with it unbelievable. He's tough as nails, man. He's not budging. He doesn't let none of that affect him; whether it's praise or people judging him about his decision, he's the same. He's the same, and I really respect that because I don't think a lot of people could deal with the things that he deals with on a daily basis."
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