Even Rose

The news came out yesterday that apparently while at Simeon High School in Chicago, Bulls point Guard and rookie of the year, Derrek Rose, had some cheating issues. According to the reports, someone with access to Rose's transcript changed a D to a C, and someone else actually took the SAT for him.

Now I don't pretend to know what Memphis's requirements for admission are -- I didn't apply there, and maybe Rose would have gotten in regardless of the grades and test score. And none of that actually matters. Because Rose was supposed to be different.

He was different from the "thug" image that so many think is portrayed by the majority of NBA players. He was different from other athletes because he didn't have ego issues, was totally selfless on the court, and had a clean slate off the court. But as it turns out, he is no different.

He is a cheater, and while it's all in his past, albeit a very recent past, and it won't affect him now, it's still quite sad to see that even the most seemingly good athlete has issues of his own. Am I surprised, no? Disappointed? Sure.

But the Bulls will still build around him and he will lead the team for the next 10+ years. But from now on, we will have to keep the praises to the stuff he does on the hardwood, not off. And that's just sad.