The verdict in the Derrick Rose trial got announced on Wednesday afternoon.
On Wednesday afternoon, the verdict in the civil suit of New York Knicks star Derrick Rose got announced. Rose and two others allegedly broke into his ex-girlfriend’s house and gang-raped her in 2013 after the use of drugs or alcohol caused her to pass out. They were also sued for $21 million.
After three hours of deliberating, the jury came to its conclusion. They cleared Rose and his two friends of all charges, according to multiple reports. This would end the two-week trial of the three-year-old incident.
This will allow Rose to be on the court with the Knicks as their year begins shortly.
At courthouse, Derrick Rose and friends not liable/cleared of all charges.
— jon greenberg (@jon_greenberg) October 19, 2016
The 28-year-old and the Knicks will kick off their 2016 season on Tuesday, October 25 vs the Cleveland Cavaliers, last season’s NBA Finals winner. The former No. 1 overall pick, Courtney Lee, Joakim Noah, and others are among the new faces on this team that retooled after 2015-16.
They will join the likes of Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis in hope of making a playoff run next spring. New head coach Jeff Hornacek will look to guide them after being fired by the Phoenix Suns in the middle of last season.
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Rose is on the last year of a five-year extension he signed in 2011 after winning the NBA MVP. His career got filled with injuries afterward, costing him most of the next four seasons. He played in 66 games in 2015-16, his highest total since the MVP season.
There will be the question of how much he can provide after all these injury-riddled seasons. If a performance anywhere close to 2010-11 can be reached, then the Knicks could become a playoff team. If not, they’ll clear themselves of the 20-plus million owed to the Memphis alumnus next offseason.