Chicago Bulls Forward Nikola Mirotic Is a Better Man Than All of Us

Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic might be an angel, because if a co-worker gave me multiple facial fractures and a concussion in a fistfight, I would be suing my employers, my employerโ€™s employers and my employerโ€™s employerโ€™s employers. I would spend the rest of my days at work looking like this: Suggested Reading Three Friends…

Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic might be an angel, because if a co-worker gave me multiple facial fractures and a concussion in a fistfight, I would be suing my employers, my employerโ€™s employers and my employerโ€™s employerโ€™s employers. I would spend the rest of my days at work looking like this:

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Trump’s Tariffs Might Stick Around. What Should We Buy Now?
Trump’s Tariffs Might Stick Around. What Should We Buy Now?

But alas, Iโ€™m not Mirotic, who had his damn face broken after an Oct. 17 fight with Bulls teammate Bobby Portis. Portis has since apologized, and Mirotic is looking to move on.

โ€œWe are teammates,โ€ Mirotic said after Wednesdayโ€™s practice, his first with the team and his first time speaking publicly about the incident, ESPN reports. โ€œWe are on the same team. Obviously we are fighting for this team. We both are going to do what we need to do to make it work. Yeah, I did accept his apology.โ€

Umm, fugg that. He broke your face, son. Your face!

Mirotic obviously didnโ€™t want to rehash everything that led to the fight and wouldnโ€™t address whether he and Portis had sat down and talked since the incident.

โ€œIโ€™m comfortable being with the team,โ€ Mirotic told ESPN. โ€œI had a lot of support from my teammates, from everybody. Right now itโ€™s on me to relax and enjoy playing basketball again, to get my strength back. Itโ€™s been a long time since I didnโ€™t play. ... When I stepped into the United Center [Tuesday], it was a huge feeling for me. Really excited just to be on the bench, so yeah, Iโ€™m excited.โ€

Mirotic noted that his face has healed, but neither he nor Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg could say when heโ€™d actually play.

โ€œI know heโ€™s excited to get back out there on the floor,โ€ Hoiberg told ESPN. โ€œThatโ€™s the final hurdle here, getting him back on the court, in uniform, in a game setting. Hopefully he responds well here to these next three days, and then weโ€™ll make a determination from there as far as getting him back out on the floor. But heโ€™s been in really good spirits. Heโ€™s been really good with the guys. Now itโ€™s about getting in the best shape possible and getting ready to play.โ€

And while Mirotic was unclear about the nature of his relationship with Portis, he was adamant that he had no problems being a professional teammate.

โ€œIโ€™ve been playing this game nine years professionally,โ€ Mirotic said. โ€œI was always a good teammate, always professional with everybody, and Iโ€™m going to continue to do that. If Iโ€™m here itโ€™s because I want to continue to support the team. Heโ€™s a part of the team. Iโ€™m going to support him, too. Obviously, Iโ€™m going to give him [fist bumps], like he would give me [fist bumps,] too.โ€

Heโ€™s a much better man than I, because I would have shown up to the Bulls practice facility like:

Read more at ESPN.

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