Derrick Rose Found Not Liable In Rape Trial

Derrick Rose was found not liable in a civil trial that accused him and two friends, Randall Hampton and Ryan Allen, of rape.

A federal jury of six women and two men came to Rose’s not liable ruling after only thee hours of deliberation on Wednesday.

Rose, who was acquired by the Knicks this summer, was accused of breaking into an ex-girlfriend’s apartment along with two friends and having sex with the woman, who will remain nameless, while she was incapable of consent. The woman claimed she could not consent due to a mix of alcohol consumption and the possibility that she was drugged by the defendants. This claim was ultimately rejected by the jury, who instead inferred from the evidence presented at trial that the woman did in fact consent to sex during the night in question.

This case was brought to court over two years after the night in question, which was in the summer of 2013. Due to the fact that there was not much physical evidence for the jury to focus on, most of this trial which began on Otc. 4, dealt with conflicting testimonies and narratives.

Both parties agreed to some extent that the woman came to a house in Beverly Hills that Rose was renting where both parties consumed alcohol. After that fact, testimonies differed.

The woman alleged that Rose and his friends were feeding her drinks and possibly slipping drugs into her drink. Following drinking at Rose’s rented house, the woman alleged that she ended up at her home, where the defendants broke in and had sex with her while she was intoxicated to the point where consent was not an option. The woman said she was in and out of consciousness during this encounter.

Rose and his camp instead alleged that the defendants drove to the woman’s house after a mutual agreement, the men then arrived at the woman’s location where she was sober enough to give consent to sex.

Both the plaintiff and defense used text messages exchanged by the woman and Rose to sway the jury. The defense stated that certain texts showed that the woman wanted sex and organized the get together at her location. The plaintiff used the text messages as evidence that the plaintiff did not realize all three men were coming over and she did not plan on having sex.

With all facts and testimonies considered in the two-week trial, Rose was found not liable and the woman did not receive any of the $21.5 million she sought in the case.

While attending the trial, Rose has missed all but one of his preseason games with the Knicks. Rose comes to the Knicks after a multi-player deal this summer that sent him over from the Chicago Bulls. After a stint in Chicago marred by injuries that caused long stretches of missed games, Rose will look to return to the player he was in his 2010-11 MVP season.

After an offseason of several trades and signings, the Knicks have high expectations this season. Adding veteran players like Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, and Courtney Lee, it is clear that the Knicks’ goal is to win now, reversing their recent misfortune.

Even with Rose being found not liable in this case, it is probable that the allegations brought against him will harm Rose’s reputation. In the media hotbed of New York City, it will be interesting to see if fans and media alike will be able to separate Rose the player from Rose the defendant.

The Knicks make their regular season debut Tuesday, Oct. 25, at Quicken Loans Arena against the NBA’s defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers.

[Featured Image by Damian Dovarganes/Ap Images]