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Derrick Rose poses with jurors after being cleared in civil rape trial

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:54 p.m. ET

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Nunzio Ingrassia

New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose and two of his friends were cleared by eight jurors Wednesday in a lawsuit that alleged the trio raped Rose’s ex-girlfriend while she was impaired by drugs and alcohol.

Moments after Rose was found not liable in the civil trial that occurred in Los Angeles, Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald reportedly told the Knicks guard, “Best wishes, except when the Knicks play the Lakers.”

Rose then was seen posing for photos with members of the jury.

"I am thankful that the jury understood and agreed with me," Rose said in a statement to the Associated Press. "This experience and my sensitivity to it was deep. I am ready to put this behind me and focus on my family and career."

The plaintiff’s lawyer said Rose and his friends are “sexual deviants” and added that they conspired to rape his client, who was seeking $21.5 million, when she was incapable of consenting during the alleged encounter that occurred in August 2013.

"I think it's a shame for women, for this country that a celebrity can come into court and slut-shame a woman like my client," the woman’s attorney Waukeen McCoy told the AP.

Rose’s attorney, Michael Monico, alleged that the 30-year-old woman has tried to deceive people for much of her life.

"This woman has tried to trick people through much of her life, men especially," attorney Michael Monico said. "Who is she trying to trick in this courtroom, ladies and gentlemen? You. She doesn't have any evidence, but she can cry."

Rose was traded by the Bulls to the Knicks this summer, ending the 28-year-old’s seven-year run with his hometown team.

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