Bulls Media Pool Feels Cheesed After Reading Derrick Rose's USA Today Interview
By Chuck Sudo in News on Feb 14, 2013 10:45PM
USA Today ran an interview with Bulls guard Derrick Rose Wednesday where the former MVP spoke for the first time—without an Adidas camera following him, anyway—his progress rehabilitating the knee injury that ended his season in last year’s NBA playoffs.
Rose told USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt any suggestions he may return to the court as early as after the All Star Break aren’t set in stone. In fact, Rose said he would be fine sitting out the season if he doesn’t feel he’s fully ready to return to the court.
"I'm not coming back until I'm 110%. Who knows when that can be? It can be within a couple of weeks. It could be next year. It could be any day. It could be any time. It's just that I'm not coming back until I'm ready."
This is a reasonable answer. Rose is the undisputed star of the Bulls and the team’s fortunes ultimately fall on him. To come back at the “high 80s” health level Rose says he’s currently feeling could set him back in his recovery and have the Bulls scrambling for a long range backup plan, in case Rose’s knee is permanently scarred.
But that’s not how some in the Bulls media pool are taking the interview. They’re chafed that Rose didn’t give them the exclusive first. WSCR-AM Bulls beat reporter David Schuster and Tribune Bulls writer K.C. Johnson each penned columns Rose was looking out for his burgeoning brand than letting someone in the local media have first crack at the sit-down interview.
I understand that Rose is a money-making machine for his shoe company and so many other products. And that by having this article come out in a national publication it serves a financial purpose. But how many times have we heard that Rose is a “Chicago guy” and his roots and heart are from his home city. To bypass and stiff the local media was an incredible insult.The message to the local media was blatantly clear: You folks don’t matter as much as the entities that can build up Rose’s stature even more.
Rose seemingly putting the brakes on his comeback during the interview with a hand-picked, national publication was as calculated as everything else about his recovery. According to the Bulls, Rose's Los Angeles-based agency, the Wasserman Media Group, set up the sit-down. Same goes for interviews with two other national outlets that have yet to air or publish.The Bulls say Rose is free to speak whenever he desires but have spent the season keeping him off-limits to local reporters who cover the team every day. The silent treatment represented a departure for an organization that did a tremendous, transparent job post-injury using team doctors to explain in detail the injury and rehabilitation plan. Suddenly, days before the NBA All-Star break when shoe companies typically have a captive audience, Adidas' $260 million man bared his soul to the national media. Coincidence?
Oh, boo hoo!
Derrick Rose spoke to a national reporter—for the nation’s second-largest newspaper, no less—and still didn’t set a timetable for his return. There’s no guarantee Haugh, Schuster or anyone else in the Bulls media pool could have broken the wall Rose has had up for months regarding discussion of his rehab. We can’t get pissy about it now, after the breathless reporting on Rose’s Adidas-sponsored “The Return” series and the little moments that we’ve overreacted to as he’s progressed: Derrick Rose is off crutches; Derrick Rose is working out at the Berto Center; Derrick Rose traveling with the team; Derrick Rose woke up and ate steel cut oats with a side of Gummi Bears this morning.
When you contribute to the hype, you cannot complain because Rose gave a “scoop” (such as it was) to someone from out of town. Where was the outrage when The Atlantic outed Dan Sinker as the man behind the @MayorEmanuel Twitter feed? Are local political writers afforded privilege because they may not be the first with news from the White House? After all, Barack Obama still has a home in Kenwood. Shouldn’t Our Town’s Washington Bureau chiefs be calling dibs on Obama stories, simply because we followed him as an unknown state Senator in Springfield?
It’s a bit disingenuous for Haugh and Schuster to suggest someone else (i.e., Adidas) is controlling when and how information regarding Rose’s rehab is released. Derrick Rose is a grown-ass man who’s capable of his own decisions and his brand isn’t national—it’s global. To assume there’s a puppet master pulling his strings and he isn’t ultimately making the decisions is an insult to Rose and themselves. Would there have been any difference to how Haugh or Schuster would have reported the story, if they had the opportunity? Again, Rose has shown to be pretty unflappable when pressed for a specific date of return.
Finally, consider this: the Bulls are a surprising 30-23 and fifth in the Eastern Conference at the All Star break. They’ve had to scrap and claw to that record with a pugnacious style of play that brings to mind the Dick Motta squads of the 1970s. Would Derrick Rose, at 80 percent or 110 percent, make the difference between a possible first-round loss in this year’s playoffs and an extended run?
It’s time for some perspective from all of us.