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Derrick Rose is a role model for every kid who grows up in Englewood or any other poverty-stricken neighborhood, utilizes his God-given and self-imposed talents while striving to overcome one obstacle after another that society throws in his path and finally achieves riches and stardom.
Good for him. It's a good Hollywood script.
But Rose sends the wrong message if he uses those physical and athletic skills to manipulate a system designed to determine right from wrong, morally or ethically or legally. It worked for him. But how many other kids who desire to be "the next Derrick Rose" will realize his dream?
Not many. For every Derrick Rose or Kevin Garnett, there are thousands who aren't good enough to start on their high school team or aren't good enough to earn a Division I scholarship or aren't good enough to be drafted by a NBA team.
Think about it. Think of all the outstanding high school players you have seen or heard about who dreamed of NBA stardom and never made it. Some were good enough to extend their basketball careers by playing overseas, in Europe or Australia or South America or Japan or Israel. But they never got to the NBA. Others, sadly, never prepared themselves for life after basketball.
Whatever happened to Raymond McCoy, Audie Matthews, Bernard Jackson, Thomas Hamilton, Jamie Brandon, Ronnie Fields, Leon Smith, Cedrick Banks, DeAndre Thomas, Howard Nathan, Sherell Ford, Billy Harris...all great high school players, even players of the year, playground legends who failed, for one reason or another, to score at the next level?
The lesson in all of this is there are no guarantees, no matter how good you or the media or college coaches or your posse think you are, that fate will deliver you to the NBA or NFL or MLB.
The NBA did Rose a favor. He wasn't ready to leap from Simeon High School to the NBA. He wasn't in Garnett's class. Nobody talked about Rose as a lottery pick. However, because of the NBA's new rule requiring high school seniors to attend at least one year of college, Rose had to get another year of seasoning.
He chose Memphis because coach John Calipari has a well-deserved reputation for preparing players for the NBA. And that's what he did for Rose. Do you think Rose would have been the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft coming out of Simeon? Do you think he would have been drafted at all? No matter, the year at Memphis removed all doubts.
But did he get to Memphis on his own academic merits or with a little help from his friends? Wouldn't you love to see his freshman transcript? Wouldn't you kill to know the courses he took? NBA Preparation 101? How to sign autographs? How to give interviews? How to make your shoe company sponsor proud?
That's all well and good. Rose wanted to be a professional basketball player--like Dick Butkus wanted to be a professional football player--and he never thought about being a teacher, lawyer or bricklayer.
But do these kids ever wonder what they would do with their lives if, God forbid, they suffered a career-ending injury before their first game in college or the NBA? If they were 21 years old and never could play basketball again? Are they prepared to do anything but shoot jump shots? Will their friends still be going to the mall with them when they can't get them front row seats anymore?
Cell Phone Alerts
I'M NOT READY TO THROW D. ROSE UNDER THE BUS OR HIS FAMILY
I AM EXTREMELY PROUD OF HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS, ALL OF THIS
CONTROVERSIAL STUFF, IS JUST THAT STUFF, SOUNDS LIKE SOME
ONE IS HATING ON HIS SUCCESS, THE YOUNG MAN WINS THE
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR IN THE NBA, AND RIGHT AFTER THE SEASON
ALL OF THIS STUFF POPS UP, I HEARD ANDY KATZ SAY ON TV
THAT HE WANTS D.ROSE AND HIS BROTHER TO STOP HIDING BEHIND
THEIR ATTORNEY, WELL I THOUGHT THAT'S WHAT YOU PAID AN
ATTORNEY TO DO, IS REPRESENT YOU, SO YOU WON'T HAVE TO
TALK TO THE MEDIA AND POSSIBLY SAY SOMETHING THAT OTHERS
WILL MISCONSTRUE!
I SAY STAND FAST AND ALL OF THIS WILL PASS, CONTINUED
SUCCESS, AND TO THOSE WHO ARE HATING ON THIS FAMILY, SHAME
ON YOU, THIS YOUNG MAN DOESN'T DESERVE THIS OR HIS FAMILY,
THIS RANKS RIGHT UP THERE WITH THE NORTH LAWNDALE COLLEGE
PREP UNIFORM SNAFU THIS PAST SEASON, WITH THE TECHNICALS
BEFORE THE STATE PLAY-OFF GAMES, FOR D. ROSE TO ACCOMPLISH
WHAT HE HAS, AFTER GROWING UP WHERE HE DID, IS NOTHING
SHORT OF A MIRACLE!
TO ALL THE YOUNGSTERS OUT THERE TRYING TO EMULATE D. ROSE
SHOOT FOR THE STARS YOU JUST MAY PULL IN THE MOON, AND
WATCH WHOM YOU ASSOCIATE WITH, EVERYONE ISN'T YOUR FRIEND!
ALL OF THIS SOUNDS LIKE A FISHING EXPEDITION TO ME!
THE D. ROSE NAME WILL NEVER BE TARNISHED!
You may not like the "stuff", but IF someone else took the SAT test for him and he was aware of it, then he is a cheater. If true, then his name should be tarnished.
I think this is an issue that is much larger than basketball. It painfully obvious that this young man is extremely under-educated. In fact, he presents like a person with a disability. It also doesn't take a social scientist to see that he is more than likely illiterate. Having said that, long before Derrick Rose had the opportunity to become a professional athlete he wasn't receiving a basic education.
Unfortunately we live in place where we will say that it is okay for a black child to be both socially and academically underdeveloped as long as he can make a living as a jock. All the while, we are losing sight of the fact that,socially and academically speaking, there are literally thousands of Derrick Roses across the country that do not have his physical gifts and will not make a living playing basketball. What's going to happen with these young men? The fact that we as black people support a system that produces, en masse, an underclass of black boys who are corrupted into believing that their only reason to be on this planet is to be an athlete is perverse, to say the least.
We are sending the absolute wrong message to our kids by allowing them to cheat and, in this case, cheating for them. I feel sorry for Derrick Rose and all of the young men like him who have been so improperly influenced that they will never grow and develop into anything other than athletes. Life has so much more to offer and being rich is not an adequate trade-off.
YOU GUYS KEEP SAYING HE CHEATED, THERE IS NO PROOF OF THIS
SO-CALLED CHEATING, THERE HAVE BEEN ACCUSATIONS, BUT AS
FAR AS PROOF, WELL THAT'S THE KEY THING, WHERE IS THE
PROOF?
YOU NEED AN ID CARD TO TAKE AN ACT TEST OR SAT TEST, SO
RIGHT THERE IS A RED FLAG, I DON'T BELIEVE THIS REALLY
HAPPENED!
SOMEONE AT HIS HIGH SCHOOL CHANGED A GRADE, WELL HE DIDN'T
SO, AND FIRE THE PERSON WHO DID, IF IT REALLY HAPPENED!
I DO KNOW THE SUN IS GOING TO COME UP TOMORROW, AND I DO
KNOW THAT D. ROSE WON THE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR, DON'T HATE
THE PLAYER HATE THE GAME!
ALSO THE MESSAGE IS COME OUT WHEN YOU HAVE PROOF, WE DON'T
NEED THEORIES ON CHEATING, EITHER HE IS OR HE ISN'T, AS
OF NOW HE ISN'T, HE IS IN THE NBA, HIS COACH FROM HIGH
SCHOOL SAID HE PARTICIPATED IN THE INVESTIGATION, WHERE
IS THE PROOF, IF YOU HAVE IT, SHOW IT, OR SHUT-UP AND LEAVE
THIS YOUNG MAN ALONE AND HIS FAMILY AS WELL!
NOW YOU KNOW WHY BRANDON JENNINGS WENT OVERSEAS INSTEAD
OF GOING TO A JUCO OR SITTING OUT A YEAR, WHY GO THROUGH
THIS DRAMA IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO, IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO
THROW SOMEONE UNDER THE BUS, DON'T DO IT!
TREAT PEOPLE LIKE YOU WANT TO BE TREATED!
STOP WITH THE INSULTS AND THEORIES, D.ROSE ATTENDED
BEASLEY ACADEMIC CENTER, MY SON DID AS WELL AND HE SCORED
A 21 ON THE ACT IN 8TH GRADE, BEASLEY IS TOP OF THE LINE,
EITHER YOU SHOW ME HE CHEATED OR STOP SPEWING VENOM ON
THIS YOUNG MAN!
Mr. Smith, if you look at my response, I used the term "if" twice relative to Derrick Rose himself regarding the SAT test. If he indeed took the test, he should state so unequivocally. Easy enough to do.
Congratulations to your son on getting a 21 ACT score at that age! Tell him to keep hitting those books and great things will surely follow.
Phil, with all due respect, I don't expect for you to understand what we are talking about here. You clearly are coming from a different place. However, whether or not we can prove whether this kid cheated or not is not main issue for me. The fact that this young man with one year of college to his credit speaks likes a third-grader (maybe) is a major concern for me. Couple that with the fact that there are literally thousands of other black boys in this same condition who will never have an opportunity to make a living playing basketball, in my mind, constitutes an epidemic. The fact that supposedly responsible adults condone and support this condition is truly sad.
So understand that I am not criticizing Derrick Rose. My issues are with a system, run by adults who should know better, that produces kids like him and the adults who applaud the fact that our community is mass-producing severely underdeveloped young men who are destined to spend their lives as part of a permanent underclass, whether they become millionaires or not!
And again Phil, I don't expect you to understand and I say that with all due respect.
And as far as cheating on standardized testing goes; it is as simple as knowing the person who is proctoring the test that particular day. It's been done many times before, this is nothing new.
THAT SUMS IT ALL UP, YOU SAY YOU DON'T EXPECT ME TO UNDERSTAND, WELL THAT'S HOW D. ROSE AND HIS FAMILY FEELS,
NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY, YOU WON'T UNDERSTAND!
ALSO MY SON GRADUATED FROM U OF I, HE NOW TEACHES AND IS
WORKING ON HIS MBA! HE SCORED A 27 ACT OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL!
WHY DO YOU GUYS GET SO IN AN UPROAR OVER THIS STUFF, D.
ROSE ISN'T THE POSTER CHILD FOR SPORTS, BUT YOU WANT HIM
TO COME OUT AND SAY THIS AND SAY THAT, THAT'S WHY YOU HIRE
ATTORNEYS!
STOP WITH THE CHEAP SHOTS ABOUT THE WAY SOME ONE SPEAKS, EVERYONE DOESN'T SPEAK LIKE PAUL ROBESON OR DENZEL WASHINGTON OR LAURENCE OLIVIER!
BOTTOMLINE GET YOURSELF A NEW WHIPPING BOY, D. ROSE ISN'T
THE ONE!
THE SYSTEM IS THE SYSTEM, GO TO CHICAGOHOOPS.COM AND YOU
WILL SEE THAT THE MAIN TOPIC IS AAU BASKETBALL, IT IS, WHAT IT IS, IT IS A POWERFUL ORGANIZATION, AND IT ISN'T
GOING ANYWHERE!
BOTTOM LINE - YOU WANT TO HEAR FROM D.ROSE OR A MEMBER OF HIS FAMILY, THEY HAVE TOLD YOU THEY PARTICIPATED IN THE
INVESTIGATION, BUT THAT ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU, SO GRIN
AND BEAR IT, I BELIEVE SOMEONE WANTS TO SLANDER THIS YOUNG
MAN'S GOOD NAME, AND THAT IS MY OPINION!
IF YOU DON'T STAND FOR SOMETHING, YOU WILL FALL FOR ANYTHING!
at my job, sharing passwords gets you fired. that's why everyone has their own password with very strict rules on not sharing them.
the teacher who was out of town but someone had his password used by someone else? that teacher would be gone if he worked here, or at my local bank, or in civil service. if it were the military, all 6 employees who "routinely shared" passwords would be gone, every one of them.
the responsibility is on the person who owned the password. that person going on vacation while others use his password should be made an example of.
assuming, of course, there's such a thing as accountability when it comes to public school administrators.
I read the report and it is apparent that Rose cheated. And my bottom line on this matter is simply this; the NBA needs to fund its own minor leagues because kids like Derrick Rose have absolutely no business on a college campus. And that is for a multitude of reasons.
HE SHOULDN'T BE ON A COLLEGE CAMPUS, THAT IS THE MOST
ABSURD STATEMENT I HAVE HEARD YET, HE HELPED LEAD HIS TEAM
TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, STILL NO PROOF HE CHEATED, AND
YOU SAY (DARNELL) HE SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ON A COLLEGE
CAMPUS, DARNELL YOU DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO SAY THIS, BUT
YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY, AND BY THE WAY D. ROSE MADE 4.8 MILLION DOLLARS, IN HIS FIRST YEAR OF HIS ROOKIE CONTRACT!
ONE YEAR OF COLLEGE GOES ALONG WAY!
I WONDER WHAT HE GOT FROM ADIDAS FOR HIS SHOE DEAL?
Whooooosh
Phil, say that out loud. That would be the point that you missed, that you never seem to get. Fortunately for you the fact that you don't get it will never bother you because you don't know what you don't know.
HEY DARNELL I DON'T WHAT REPORT YOU READ, BUT READ IT AGAIN
THERE IS NO PROOF THE MAN CHEATED, BUT DARNELL SINCE YOU
KNOW IT ALL, DON'T USE THE WORD FACT FOR A YEAR!
SPECULATION IS THE WORD YOU WERE SEARCHING FOR, WITCH
HUNT, FISHING EXPEDITION, YOU MAY USE THESE TERMS!
STOP BEATING A DEAD HORSE!
Phil, again you miss the point. As I've said before, whether Derrick Rose cheated or not is not the substantive issue here, although there is plenty of evidence in the report to strongly suggest that he did. However, what is troubling to me is the fact that he, or any kid for that matter, has to take the test several times in order to get a qualifying score. What that tells me is that he got cheated out of a basic education and that is very unfortunate. What would this kid do if he couldn't play basketball? What would he be qualified to do in this society without a basic education?
It is easy to celebrate his athletic accomplishments and righfully so, but we in the black community lose sight of the fact that for every Derrick Rose that makes it, there are 10,000 Kevin Johnsons that don't. I, for one, don't like those odds. And unfortunately not enough of us understand that fact to actually do something about it. And again, I really do not expect for you to get that concept.
WHY USE THAT YOUNG MAN'S NAME IN AN ARTICLE, I GET YOUR
POINT, BUT CONTRARY TO BELIEF, THERE ARE ALOT OF YOUNG
MEN AND WOMEN DOING WELL, WE SHOULDN'T BE TO QUICK TO
SLANDER SOMEONE'S NAME, THAT'S MY RESPONSE, WATCH USING
NAMES, PEOPLE DIDN'T LIKE BOOKER T. WASHINGTON, BUT
TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY STANDS TALL THIS DAY, PEOPLE DIDN'T
LIKE W.E.B. DUBOIS, BUT FISK UNIVERSITY STANDS TALL TODAY,
WE MUST BE MORE INTROSPECTIVE, THAN REACTIVE, ESPECIALLY
WITH THE YOUTH OF TODAY, THEY SEE WAY MORE THAN WE DID,
THEY WANT TO TRY MORE THINGS, THAN WE EVER DID, THEY WANT
THE QUICK FIX, BUT SOME ARE GOING THROUGH THE TRIALS AND
TRIBULATIONS OF LIFE AND ARE BECOMING GREAT CITIZENS!
WHERE DID YOU GET THAT NUMBER 10,000 FROM?