Rose: Kids Were My Inspiration For Wearing 'I Can't Breathe' Shirt
(CBS) Addressing the "I can't breathe" T-shirt he wore Saturday in pregame warmups in support of those protesting police brutality, Bulls point guard Derrick Rose said Monday his inspiration for making the bold statement was his 2-year-old son and other kids throughout the nation and added it's an issue that hits close to home for him.
The shirt was in reference to words that Eric Garner, who was black, uttered as he was put in a chokehold in July by a white police officer in Staten Island, N.Y. Garner passed away from injuries that he suffered after being apprehended on suspicion of selling loose cigarettes. National protests over police brutality erupted last week nationwide when the police officer wasn't indicted.
"My biggest concern is the kids," Rose said, a native of Chicago's South Side. "I know what they're thinking right now. I was one of them kids. You live an area like that and you don't have any hope and police are treating you in that way -- I'm not saying all police are treating kids bad -- but when you live in an area like that, it gives you another reason to be bad. You know what I mean? My biggest concern are the kids and making sure my son grows up in a safe environment.
"That's one of the reasons I wore the shirt -- I'm a parent now. Probably two years ago, it would've been different. I probably wouldn't have worn the shirt. But now that I'm a dad, it's changed my outlook on life, period. Like I said, I don't want my son growing up being scared of police or even having that thought on the mind that something like that can happen.
"I just wanted to show my support by wearing the shirt."
Rose said he felt strongly about the movement, so he had a shirt made. He told teammate Joakim Noah before Saturday's loss to the Warriors. He was also pleased with the reception he got for it. His teammates and Cavaliers star LeBron James have supported him, among others.
"I'm just happy people paid attention to it," Rose said. "I think it touched a lot of people because I grew up in the impoverished area like that, and sometimes that (police brutality) happens a lot.
"It just touched a lot of people. I just wanted to make sure I got my point across."
Rose taking a stand was a major move, as many professional athletes have avoided getting in the middle of hot-button social issues.
"Usually professional athletes stay away from this, but this is something I felt like I had to do something about," Rose said.
"I wouldn't say I'm going to do it every time. It's just something I felt. Usually I stay out of politics and stay out of police brutality. I'm not saying all cops are bad or anything. I'm just saying what happened … was uncalled for, and I think it hurt a lot of people, hurt the nation.
"I've never had a personal experience (like that) … but I saw it every day -- not the killing or anything, but I saw the violence every day and just seeing what can happen.
"If anything, I'm just trying to change the kids' thoughts throughout the nation."
