She said, they said: Derrick Rose case boils down to consent
LOS ANGELES — Months before Derrick Rose took the stand to defend himself in the lawsuit claiming he and two buddies raped an ex-girlfriend while she was intoxicated, the NBA star was asked if he understood the word consent.
“No. But can you tell me?” he asked at a deposition in June.
Rose came to court last week with a much better grasp of the word that is central to the $21 million civil case, though his interpretation of the concept could prove costly.
No one disputes Rose and his friends had sex with the woman in her apartment Aug. 27, 2013. The question is whether she consented — as the men claim — or whether she was too incapacitated to do so — as the ex-girlfiend says.