Woman Can't Cry in Court: Lawyer in Derrick Rose Gang Rape Case Objects to Tearful Testimony

While on the stand Thursday during the $21.5 million civil trial accusing former Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose and two friends of gang rape, the victim in the case cried as she described the alleged attack in 2013.

But a defense attorney for the two friends objected to the woman's tearful and emotional testimony, arguing that she can't be "crying all day," The Associated Press reports. The lawyer asked the judge to order the woman not to cry in court, but that request was denied, the report added.

"I'm not going to order the witness not to cry any more than I'm going to order her not to breathe," U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald replied, according to the AP.

The civil lawsuit against Rose was filed by a 30-year-old college student who met the Chicago native in 2011 and was in a relationship with him for almost two years. In the suit, the woman claims Rose, 28, and two of his childhood friends drugged her during a party at the NBA All-Star's Los Angeles home in Augst of 2013. The three men then went to her apartment later and raped her while she was unconscious.

More Derrick Rose Lawsuit Coverage on Patch

• L.A. Police Investigating Derrick Rose Gang Rape Accusations
• Rose's Accuser in Lawsuit Must Use Real Name: Judge
• Gang-Rape Accuser: 'I Didn't Want Nobody to Know'
• Rose's Defense Relies on Outdated Notions About Women and Sex
• Rose's 'Sex Belt' Key to His Defense in Lawsuit
• Derrick Rose Sued by Woman Claiming He and 2 Friends Drugged and Gang Raped Her

Rose — who was traded this past offseason from the Bulls to the New York Knicks — has admitted to having group sex with the woman during that night in 2013, but he claims it was consensual. Last month, he told reporters during the Knicks' media day that he was not guilty of the accusations leveled against him.

"I feel like I didn’t do anything wrong," he said. "I will be proven innocent."

During opening statements in the trial, which began Oct. 3, Rose's defense team also contended that there was no gang rape, the AP reports. No physical evidence of the alleged assault — the kind gathered from a rape kit or a doctor's exam — exists, since the woman waited two years before reporting it to authorities because she was too embarassed, the report stated. Her criminal report also was filed after she filed the civil lawsuit, the report added.

Although no criminal charges have been filed against Rose, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed in September that it was actively investigating the allegations.

More via The Associated Press

photo via Patch archives

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