MIAMI (AP) — Chris Bosh has issued a response to those who may think he should abandon his hopes of playing in the NBA again in order to ensure he’s healthy to raise his five children.
His message: His children are why he wants to keep playing.
“I want my children to know that daddy was a fighter and he just didn’t give up very easily,” Bosh said.
Bosh released the latest — and since it was called ‘Finale,’ presumably the last — installment of his video series on LeBron James’ Uninterrupted platform Tuesday, parts of which were apparently taped on the day that the Miami Heat began training camp in the Bahamas last month.
Bosh — who had his last two seasons cut short because of blood clots — remains on the Heat roster, though is no longer in the team’s plans going forward after he failed his preseason physical last month and wasn’t cleared to resume basketball activities. He’s owed nearly $76 million for the next three seasons, money that is guaranteed even if he doesn’t play.
“What I would say to the people who just see the money and kind of see my situation and say, ‘Hey, just walk away,’ I get it. I totally get it. I understand you. I hear you,” Bosh said. “But I’m not really thinking about money. I’m just thinking about where my heart is. I love the NBA. I love playing basketball every day for a living.”
Bosh repeated that he plans to continue trying to play, and said he believes basketball is “just what I’ve been placed here to do.” He also said he wants his quest to play to serve as a reminder to people that giving up on a goal should not be done lightly.
“All I have to do is just leave and you’ll never hear from me again,” Bosh said. “I’ll probably just do other things and I’ll be fine – and that makes it confusing, because I know where my heart is. And I would just feel like I’m giving up if I just walked away, just easily like that.”
