Derrick Rose is safe and well – and has apologized to the New York Knicks after revealing he left the team without permission to be with his family in Chicago.
Rose caused consternation when he failed to show up for Monday night’s game against the Pelicans at Madison Square Garden. Several team-mates and officials said they were unsure of Rose’s whereabouts, and the Knicks were so concerned for the player’s safety that they sent someone to check on him at his apartment, sources said.
Without their star guard, the Knicks lost 110-96 – their eighth loss in nine games.
On Tuesday, Rose attempted to clear matters up, and confirmed he left New York on Monday to fly to Chicago to be with his mother. “It was personal. I put it on myself for not telling the Knicks,” he said. “I am not perfect. I apologized to the team.”
Rose, 28, said he made contact with Knicks officials late on Monday. He said he didn’t pick up when the Knicks called him before the game because he needed “space to process what was happening with my family” – but he didn’t go into further details.
The Knicks confirmed Rose arrived back in New York on Tuesday morning. The team tweeted: “Derrick Rose has rejoined the team and has been fined. He is expected to be in uniform tomorrow in Philadelphia.” The team also tweeted a photo of practice with Rose in his No25 jersey taking part.
Practice pic.twitter.com/IAtoGBc2jR
— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) January 10, 2017
Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said he was “satisfied” with his player’s reason for leaving – but said Rose should have contacted the team earlier. The Knicks coach said he received a text from Rose after the game to let him know he was OK.
Rose has averaged 17.3 points, 4.5 assists and 3.9 rebounds in 33 games for the Knicks, but was unhappy at being benched in the fourth quarter in recent games against Milwaukee and Indiana. But sources said it was wrong to connect Rose’s frustration with his absence on Monday.
