Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose took the court for warm-ups last night (Dec. 6) with a tribute to Eric Garner. Donning a t-shirt that read the final words of the Staten Island man man who was killed by a police officer’s chokehold, his political stance made headlines. While Rose did not make any explicit statements regarding the Garner case, a reporter took to Twitter to remark that the NBA star did not “really understand” the statement he made.
Dan Bernstein, senior columnist for CBS Chicago, began his commentary on Rose’s t-shirt by giving him kudos, before proceeding to express his doubts that Rose understood the gravity of his actions:
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CBS Chicago sports editor Cody Westerlund also discussed Rose’s t-shirt in a recent column.
“That Rose took a stand was admirable,” he wrote. “One NBA star bringing awareness to a social issue can do work of hundreds of Average Joes, and Rose still carries clout as the hometown hero who made it out of the rough streets of Englewood. With his platform comes a responsibility, and this was Rose using it to the fullest extent.”