Derrick Rose ‘not worried’ about pending civil rape trial
Derrick Rose speaks during a news conference at New York Knicks Media Day on September 26, 2016 in White Plains. Credit: AFP/Getty Images / EDUARDO MUNOZ ALVAREZ
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Knicks point guard Derrick Rose said Monday that he is “not worried” about the pending civil lawsuit accusing him of rape or the recent revelation from the Los Angeles Police Department that there is an active criminal investigation into the matter.
“I haven’t talked to anyone [from the LAPD] and this is my first time hearing about [their investigation],” Rose said at the team’s media day. “I’m not worried about it. I feel like I haven’t done anything wrong.”
Rose’s civil trial is scheduled to open Oct. 4 in Los Angeles. The Knicks said they knew about the civil lawsuit when they traded for the former NBA MVP in June. It appears that no one on the Knicks, including Rose, knew about the criminal investigation until a letter from a LAPD detective was filed Sunday night by the lawyers of Rose’s “Jane Doe” accuser.
In the letter, which was obtained by Newsday, the LAPD confirmed they have an open investigation of the August 2013 incident and that the alleged victim “exercised her right to confidentiality” when filing the report. The letter was a part of papers filed to persuade the judge in the ruling to change his recent ruling allowing Jane Doe’s identity to be revealed.
The women, a 30-year-old college student, filed a lawsuit seeking $21.5 million against Rose last year, claiming that he and two of his friends raped her in August 2013 while she was incapacitated after a night of drinking. Rose and the two friends say the sex was consensual. The woman told the Associated Press that her family knew nothing about her involvement with Rose or the lawsuit and she wanted to keep it that way and avoid the spotlight.
Knicks president Phil Jackson addressed the case in his opening remarks to the media on Friday, saying that Rose isn’t losing any sleep over it.
The trial is set to start on the day of the Knicks’ first preseason game against the Rockets in Houston. Jackson said he wasn’t worried about Rose missing that game.
“We’re just going to let the process work itself out,” Jackson said on Friday. “We’re not concerned with it. We understand this is a serious subject we’re talking about. But this has to be done outside of our control. It’s something we can’t control. Derrick has expressed that he’s not concerned with it. He’s quite aware of it. It’s not keeping him up at night.”
Rose said Monday that he is trying to just concentrate on basketball and leave the rest to his legal team.
Said Rose: “My concern is playing well this year. I can’t think about the case. I feel like I’m an innocent man. I feel like I didn’t do anything wrong, like I said. I feel I can’t let that distract me from the year I have ahead.”
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
