Derrick Rose Sick and Tired of Other Players Picking on Him

Reigning NBA MVP and superstar point guard for the Chicago Bulls, Derrick Rose has missed the majority of this already condensed NBA season due to numerous injuries, but still continues to play through the pain. And with his injuries well known throughout the rest of the league, he feels the severity of fouls upon him is uncalled for and he's upset about it.

Last night, he and the record-leading Chicago Bulls pulled out an overtime win against the Detroit Pistons, but with 4:31 left in the 4th quarter, Pistons forward Charlie Villanueva committed a rather hard foul on Rose. Villanueva was given a flagrant foul after review and a technical for arguing with officials.

Rose expressed his dismay with Villanueva before heading to the sidelines to be treated for a bloody gash on his nose. He wore a band-aid for the rest of the game and spoke about the incident after the game.

"I was mad. I'm sick and tired of people trying to take cheap shots at me. You got to say something."

In a game early last month against the New York Knicks, Rose was fined $25,000 for criticizing the officials after the game because of the rough nature of play.

"I've gotta be the only superstar in the league that's going through what I'm going through right now", he said last month. "But I can't say too much about it."

Players are often given these hefty fines for speaking out of line towards the referees, but D. Rose felt it was necessary this time around.

"You got to," Rose said. "He didn't even aim for the ball. At least go for the ball. I felt like he didn't and that's the reason why I got mad a little bit."

He also feels that some players target him when he goes to the basket, but is unsure as to why.

"I really don't know. Probably because I don't say anything or whatever, but I'm a man, where in situations like that you have to say something."

Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau stated that he was content with the explanation he received from the officials.

"Look, these guys are great officials. "So (the official) said 'it appeared to be worse than it actually was.' That's what he said to me. Usually when they say that, they know they've gotten a pretty good look at it, so I dropped (the complaining) right there."