Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Lakers point guard Steve Nash was ruled out for the rest of the season last month with a recurring back injury, but Nash raised the eyebrows of Lakers fans earlier this week when he shared a video of himself hitting golf balls on Instagram, as well as a photo taken during a hike. Fans accused Nash of not really being injured, and Nash eventually deleted the video from his account.

http://instagram.com/p/u1nzrMA5Gw

Nash wrote a long letter to fans on his Facebook page Friday night, and said that while he can partake in some physical activities, playing in an NBA game is too much to handle.

Via Facebook:

I definitely don’t want to be a distraction, but I felt it best everyone heard from me in my own words.

 

I have a ton of miles on my back. Three buldging disks (a tear in one), stenosis of the nerve route and spondylolisthesis. I suffer from sciatica and after games I often can’t sit in the car on the drive home, which has made for some interesting rides. Most nights I’m bothered by severe cramping in both calves while I sleep, a result of the same damn nerve routes, and the list goes on somewhat comically. That’s what you deserve for playing over 1,300 NBA games. By no means do I tell you this for sympathy – especially since I see these ailments as badges of honor – but maybe I can bring some clarity.

 

I’ve always been one of the hardest workers in the game and I say that at the risk of what it assumes. The past 2 years I’ve worked like a dog to not only overcome these setbacks but to find the form that could lift up and inspire the fans in LA as my last chapter. Obviously it’s been a disaster on both fronts but I’ve never worked harder, sacrificed more or faced such a difficult challenge mentally and emotionally.

 

I understand why some fans are disappointed. I haven’t been able to play a lot of games or at the level we all wanted….

 

This may be hard for people to understand unless you’ve played NBA basketball, but there is an incredible difference between this game and swinging a golf club, hiking, even hitting a tennis ball or playing basketball at the park. Fortunately those other activities aren’t debilitating, but playing an NBA game usually puts me out a couple of weeks. Once you’re asked to accelerate and decelerate with Steph Curry and Kyrie Irving it is a completely different demand.

Lakers coach Byron Scott also defended Nash.