Derrick Rose: Why the Chicago Bulls' Star Was Wise to Sit out This Season

Should Derrick Rose have played this season? That is the question that has caused a great debate over the past few months.

Some fellow players such as Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James have supported Rose's decision not to play until he feels like he can do so at a high level.

On the other side of the coin, Sun-Times columnist Joe Cowley recently wrote an article stating that Rose should have tried to play at some point during this season.

Usually I offer a brief list of reasons as to why I agree or disagree with an opinion, but in this instance, I decided to take a more personal approach in expressing my viewpoint.

When I was younger, I played sports recreationally on a daily basis for several hours and like many of the teenagers in my neighborhood at that time, basketball was my favorite.

Three weeks after my 18th birthday, I was involved in an automobile accident that left me with a foot that was broken in four different places.

While suffering this injury was not the worst thing that can happen to a person, it was an event that changed my life for the better part of the next 18 months.

Following the surgery, I had to acclimate myself to getting around on crutches and doing even the most simplest of tasks was a headache to say the least.

Although depending on these strange instruments was difficult enough, the most arduous part of the process was yet to come.

After three months of being off my feet, I had to go to physical therapy to get my foot back into shape. Words alone cannot begin to describe the pain I felt from putting just minimal pressure on the foot after not using it for an extended period of time.

The good news is that I finally got to the point where I could walk and do some light jogging, but running and cutting on the basketball court was a different story.

Although my physician gave me the okay to resume participating in sports again, I did not feel that I was quite there yet, but impatience got the better of me.

After months of watching my friends play the sport I loved without me, I decided to try to go out and give it a try. This proved to be the biggest mistake I made throughout the course of the rehab process.

In attempting to get back into action too soon, I re-injured my foot and I had to wait even longer before I was able to play at the level I was accustomed to prior to the injury.

That said, I know firsthand how to it feels to come back from an injury prematurely and I was only playing sports on a recreational level.

Based on this experience, I can only imagine how apprehensive Rose feels about returning against the best athletes in the world.

The moral of this story is despite what the public opinion is about his situation, Rose should not return until he feels 100 percent comfortable in doing so-----even if it means that fans will not see him play until next season.