Derrick Rose Testifies in Rape Trial, Says That a Text Message Gave Him Consent

Derrick Rose gave testimony last night in Los Angeles federal court, saying that he believed a text message from his accuser—his ex-girlfriend—gave him consent for sex prior to an alleged gang rape, according to the Associated Press.

Rose said that the text message in question, which read, "U the reason why I wake up horny," was enough to trigger consent. Rose further stretched his justification for consent by saying, "I was assuming that all of us going over there that she wanted to have sex with all of us."

Rose's account of the incident, which happened in Los Angeles in 2013, differed greatly from that of Rose's accuser in her day-and-a-half testimony. The 30-year-old woman claimed that her memory of the incident was patchy due to the fact that she had "blacked out" and had been drugged. But between the two of them, a story emerged detailing a night of various sex acts in two different locations, involving three men: Rose, Rose's personal assistant and longtime friend Randall Hampton, and Ryan Allen (Memphis Grizzlies guard Tony Allen's little brother).

The evening allegedly started at Rose's Beverly Hills mansion, where Rose claims that he refused to kiss the woman after her advances. Later that night, Rose claims that he found Hampton having sex with the woman before she gave Rose a blowjob—though the accuser denied that this happened. The woman allegedly went home, and invited Rose to come over to her apartment several hours later. Rose, Hampton, and Allen all went over to her apartment.

From the Associated Press:

Rose said the only time the woman said, "Stop" was after she let them in her apartment and they all headed for the bedroom together.

"She told us, 'One at a time,'" he said. He and Hampton waited on the sofa while Allen was inside.

The woman testified she never let the men in her place and remembers waking to see them all in her bedroom. She recalled Allen on top of her at one point and, at another, Rose pulling her to the side of the bed as she tried to roll off.

Rose said he never received any text from the woman telling him she wanted to have sex with him and the two others. But he had assumed from what had transpired and the fact she had never told him no.

"In my mind, she consented every time we had sex," he said. "Why wouldn't she do it that time?"

Consent has become the focal point of a case that has seen the defense mount an argument that the accuser has made a "sad effort" for money—Rose's accuser is pursuing $21.5 million in damages. The woman denied that it was a money-grab, saying that she reported the incident—two years after the incident occurred (LAPD still have an open investigation)—as a way to hold Rose accountable.

At the end of Rose's testimony, Rose's lawyer asked the judge to declare a mistrial because the woman's lawyers hadn't revealed another text message as evidence until Friday. The text message in question, read, "She was mad at me babe why u have me bring a bitch and u ain't fina fuck her." The judge will rule on the motion on Tuesday.