Derrick Rose shows humanity still exists in pro sports

Covering pro sports for a living can turn you into a sarcastic, negative, jaded person. Day in and day out, I watch, listen and read about pro athletes. They talk about their monetary hardships with the lockout while they simultaneously tweet about their lavish vacations, their expensive purchases and their sponsorships.

Sometimes it’s tough for me to take their emotions and their actions genuinely. I find myself thinking there’s an ulterior motive or public relations stunt involved.

But Tuesday was a good day. Tuesday I was brought back to the good in sports while watching Derrick Rose’s MVP acceptance speech. Rose made me realize that humanity still exists in pro sports. He showed us a personal, genuine side of himself that doesn’t translate in an Adidas commercial or an NBA Playoff promo. He thanked his mom and he did it while fighting off tears.

“And last, I want to thank my mom, Brenda Rose,” the 22-year-old MVP said. “My heart, the reason I play the way I play, just everything. Just knowing [about] the days when I didn’t feel like I wanted to practice, having all the hard times, waking me up, going to work and just making sure I’m all right and making sure the family’s all right.

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