It's been over 20 years since Chris Webber's timeout call became the final lasting image of his illustrious Michigan basketball career. However, the more painful memory for Michigan basketball fans were the NCAA violations committed by Webber, who accepted $280,000 from booster Ed Martin between his freshman year of high school and his sophomore season at Michigan.
During an exclusive interview with HoopsHype, Rose discussed the disintegrating relationship with his former teammate, who is developing a Fab Five documentary that won't feature input from his Wolverine teammates. Once close friends, the hostility has reached the point where neither spoke when they saw each other at the NBA Finals in June.
I heard through mutual friends that he's upset that I said that I feel like he should have come out and apologize for some transgressions that happened at the University of Michigan. But I still stand behind that. Also I'm disappointed how the relationship with [Michigan booster] Ed Martin ended. Ed, unfortunately, in my opinion basically died of a broken heart. So while we're still brothers and I hope that we're going to make amends… One of the great things of being teammates and friends is we should be able to speak openly and honestly. And hopefully he finds a way to realize and apologize about what happened in Michigan. It ain't just about you. It's about the players, it's about the coach. Steve Fisher coached in three finals and won a championship in Michigan. You go in that campus, his name is nowhere. So it's bigger than just him. And the fans deserve it, the history of the University of Michigan deserves it. And all he had to do is say two words. It's not brain surgery. They are 'I'm sorry.'
