Derrick Rose was supposed to spend the last two weeks practicing and playing preseason games with his new team, the New York Knicks. Instead, the 2011 NBA MVP spent most of it inside a Los Angeles federal court room, as one of three defendants in a $21.5 million civil gang rape suit brought by Rose’s ex-girlfriend.
“I feel like I didn’t do anything wrong,” Rose told reporters before the trial. “I feel like if I just go up there and tell my side of the story I think I’ll be alright.”
Well, on Wednesday, he got the exoneration he was looking for, when the eight-person jury found Rose and his two friends, Randall Hampton and Ryan Allen, not liable on all counts, meaning Jane Doe did not have the preponderance of evidence to prove the men gang raped her on August 27, 2013.
Rose kept his eyes down & hugged attorney after the verdict was read. The accuser kept her head buried in her hands in a prayer position.
— Julia Marsh (@juliakmarsh) October 19, 2016
Don't see this every day. @drose and atty posing with giddy jurors after verdict. #DoevRose pic.twitter.com/hbmxnPnyf6
— Joel Rubin (@joelrubin) October 19, 2016
While nobody outside of the parties involved will ever know exactly what happened in Doe’s apartment that night, it goes without saying this is a huge victory for Rose. There will be an appeal, but it is now likely the criminal investigation against him will be dropped and he will be able to move on with his career, moral clauses in his contracts firmly intact. He’s earned that right.
However, the impact of this jury decision will linger for a long time.
This trial provided a unique look into what the justice system is like for accusers, from the filing of a suit until the jury reaches a verdict, and along the way, it exposed many ugly truths about the rape culture that still permeate our society.
This was an ugly, contentious, and complicated case from beginning to end. All parties were caught in lies, and Doe’s legal team was often outmatched by Rose’s. There was no physical evidence, so this was all about testimony, and almost all of it was conflicting.
Perhaps the only constant was victim blaming.
Rose’s very first response to the civil suit focused on Doe’s consensual sexual activity earlier in the evening (which she has categorically denied) and use of sex toys. Subsequent filings speculated about her past sexual history, involvement with other NBA players, and financial status. Rose even tried to get the suit dismissed on summary judgement and Doe’s protection of anonymity removed because, among other things, she was posting sexy photos on Instagram.
Every move Doe made after the alleged rape was scrutinized, not only by Rose and his camp, but also by those closest to her. The fact that she went to work the following day was used as proof that she was making this all up. So was the fact that she went to a party in Las Vegas two weeks later.
Back @ #DoevRose. Woman who went 2 Vegas w/Doe after alleged rape was asked by Baute if Doe is a "pathological liar." She said "definitely."
— NancyDillonNYDN (@NancyDillonNYDN) October 14, 2016
Under cross Dr Konstat was ?'d re photos of Doe in makeup in Vegas post allg attack. She said "This does not tell u how shes feeling inside"
— Julia Marsh (@juliakmarsh) October 18, 2016
While Doe certainly had witnesses who corroborated her account, she also had friends and coworkers turn against her because she hadn’t acted like they thought a victim should act, or because she didn’t tell them right away, if at all. One of her friends even leaked out of context text messages to a website, BallerAlert.com. (A similar thing happened to the alleged victim in the Kobe Bryant rape case.)
All of this proves the public lacks understanding of a fundamental truth: that everyone reacts differently to sexual assault, or really, trauma of any kind. Some compartmentalize; others collapse; some go into deep denial; others lash out; some shut themselves off from the world; others are no longer alone to be alone.
The “myth of a perfect victim” remains alive even in 2016, holding alleged victims to ridiculous standards that undoubtedly empower rapists and keep alleged victims silenced. And really, everyone is susceptible to it.
In this case, the media all but ignored the allegations against Rose for more than a year after the suit was filed, likely in part because it was only a civil trial, and because the case was so quickly dismissed as a scorned-sex-belt-loving-ex-lover-out-for-revenge by Rose, TMZ, and disgruntled members of the members.
The case was apparently not taken seriously by the NBA, either.
There has been no statement by the NBA announcing an independent investigation into the allegations. As of the week before the trial began, neither the league nor anyone from Rose’s former or current team (the Chicago Bulls or the Knicks) had contacted Doe’s legal team. Until the last month, the case wasn’t even a footnote in most of the articles written about Rose, and it appears the Knicks didn’t even think the allegations were worth looking into before trading for him.
In a press conference last month, Knicks President Phil Jackson told reporters the organization was “not concerned” with the gang rape allegations, adding that the case wasn’t “keeping [Rose] up at night.”
Meanwhile, consent, the central issue in the case, was been glossed over repeatedly, even though Rose’s own words proved time and time again that he doesn’t have a thorough understanding of the concept.
In notable exchange, @drose testified a suggestive text from accuser the day before alleged rape was to him consent for sex 18 hrs later.
— Joel Rubin (@joelrubin) October 7, 2016
Rose testifies about alleged rape: "in my mind she consented. She consented every time we had sex so why wouldn't she that one time?"
— Julia Marsh (@juliakmarsh) October 8, 2016
Ultimately, though, it took the jury only three hours of deliberation to find Rose not liable. And just like that, it’s over.
Doe, who went back to school after the alleged assault, will graduate soon. She told ThinkProgress last month that the ordeal has brought her closer to her large family and made her re-think her previously independent life. She came forward because she wanted for Rose and his friends to be accountable for what they’d done, and she wanted to let other alleged victims know that they have a voice.
Now, she’ll wait on the outcome of the appeals and the criminal investigation, knowing it’s likely she was on the losing end of a she-said, he-said battle. While she hasn’t had her face plastered all over tabloid covers like accusers in previous decades, the case will follow her everywhere she goes, and many dark corners of the internet will never let her forget what the jury decided Wednesday.
Rose gets to go back to New York and back to rebuilding his superstar career, knowing that the two-week timeout from the preseason was more than worth the risk. (“Best wishes,” Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald told Rose after the verdict was read, as reported by the New York Post. “Except when the Knicks play the Lakers,” he joked.)
Sure, there are lurid details about Rose’s sex life out in public now and this case will forever be in the footnotes of his career, but he got what he came to the courtroom for. He’s exonerated. He’s free. He might even inspire other public figures facing similar allegations to forego a settlement and gamble on a trial.
Meanwhile, rape victims past, present, and future are left with a current, updated example of how hard it is for alleged victims to come forward and seek justice. They’re left wondering if, at the end of the day, it’s even worth coming forward at all.