Judge makes Knicks joke to Derrick Rose after not liable verdict in rape suit
After Knicks guard Derrick Rose and two associates were found not liable in a civil sexual assault lawsuit on Wednesday, Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald made a joke about the team, according to the New York Post.
“Best wishes,” Fitzgerald told Rose. “Except when the Knicks play the Lakers.”
Jane Doe, the plaintiff, accused Rose and two friends of raping her at her apartment in Los Angeles in the summer of 2013. She filed civil suit two years after the alleged assault. Doe has remained anonymous in the media to protect her identity.
Rose and his two associates, Ryan Allen and Randall Hampton, maintained that the sex they had with Doe that night was consensual, and were deemed not liable by the jury.
“I am thankful that the jury understood and agreed with me,” Rose said in a statement to the Associated Press. “This experience and my sensitivity to it was deep. I am ready to put this behind me and focus on my family and career.”
Photos surfaced of Rose apparently posing for photos with jurors following the decision.
Doe had sued the Chicago Bulls star and his associates for roughly $21 million. The LAPD’s criminal investigation into the case remains ongoing. Nadine Hernandez, the detective leading the investigation, was found dead of a gunshot wound in her Los Angeles-area home last week.
Rose joined the Knicks from the Chicago Bulls this off-season. New York opens the season Oct. 25, on the road against the Cavaliers.
