Bulls' Rose 'confident' he'll be proven innocent of rape accusation
Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose is confident he'll be proven innocent of accusations made by a former girlfriend.
"I am just focusing on staying healthy and getting ready for the season," Rose said Thursday in a statement released to USA Today. "I am not going to comment other than to say - I know the truth, and am confident I will be proven innocent."
A former girlfriend of Rose is accusing the Bulls star and two of his friends of drugging and gang-raping her two years ago at her Los Angeles-area home, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday.
Rose's attorney, responding to the report, called the allegations "outrageous" and said it is an attempt to get money from Rose, according to published reports.
Rose is not facing any criminal charges at this time, so it's unlikely the suit will have any effect on his availability to play for the Bulls this season.
The woman, identified as Jane Doe in the lawsuit, says she met Rose at a party he hosted in October 2011 and began a dating relationship that continued until 2013.
According to the lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Rose invited the woman to a Beverly Hills home Aug. 26, 2013. She brought a friend with her to the residence, where they met with Rose and two co-defendants, Randall Hampton and Ryan Allen, according to the suit.
The suit alleges that at some point during the night, Rose and the co-defendants put an unknown drug in the plaintiff's drink. The suit states the plaintiff's friend, worried about her condition, took her home, but Rose and his friends went to her residence and sexually assaulted her.
She said she waited two years to file the suit because she was embarrassed, according to the lawsuit.
Rose's spokesperson, Lisa Cohen, released this statement after being contacted by TMZ: "The plaintiff's allegations are completely false and without any factual basis. This is nothing more than a desperate attempt to shake down a highly respected and successful athlete. Mr. Rose was in a nonexclusive, consensual sexual relationship with the plaintiff for over two years. The plaintiff expressed no complaints about Mr. Rose until various lawyers began to surface and demand that the plaintiff be paid millions of dollars. This is the third lawyer the plaintiff has retained in this matter. Two years have passed since Mr. Rose ended the consensual relationship with the plaintiff and her claims are as meritless now as they were two years ago. We have complete confidence that the case will be dismissed and that Mr. Rose will be vindicated. This lawsuit is outrageous."
The Bulls issued this statement early Thursday morning: "We just learned about this matter and do not know all the facts. It would be inappropriate to comment further at this time."
The lawsuit describes lengthy details about the dating life of Rose and Jane Doe. One line doesn't stand up to the facts: It said in May 2013, "Rose invited Jane and (a friend) to dinner at his house after a game he played in ended." Rose was still recovering from a torn ACL and did not play in any NBA games that month.
There are currently no hearing dates set for the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages from Rose, the two named co-defendants and 10 unidentified defendants.