It was one of the ugliest off-court moments in recent NBA history. After Derrick Rose was found not responsible for the gang rape of his ex-girlfriend in 2016, jurors posed for photos with the former league MVP outside a Los Angeles courthouse.
Rose, a longtime Chicago Bull player, was given the freedom to start his career with the New York Knicks as a mere basketball player. The former superstar succumbed to injury and repeated recoveries took him off the hallowed path, trying to reach his former heights. It's a story that, as sports fans, we've seen before and inherently understand. He would not have to face the burdensome distraction of ongoing litigation or the unnatural stain that a different verdict would cause. The ruling made it easier for him to forget about the incident and focus on his career if he wanted to.
Rose went on to play eight more seasons in the NBA, but announced his retirement on Thursday, officially ending his illustrious professional career. After a difficult few years trying to recapture some of his early luster, he has become a valuable depth guard and veteran leader. Strictly on the court, Rose's path resembles the career arc of Vince Carter, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame next month, in no small part because he understands that transition better than any player before him.
With Rose, it's not easy, is it? Nor should it be. Being found not responsible is not the same as being found innocent. And if Rose is allowed to speak passionately about basketball being his first love and how it has helped him grow and evolve, his retirement will make him one of the league's most decorated players. It is natural that this is an opportunity to remind us that we were alone. Star.
And, at least for a moment, he behaved badly. And it also showed us how bad our culture is.
Almost by definition, civil trials ask juries to decide whether the plaintiff's or the defendant's version of events is more believable. Even without spending time on the history of women's sexual histories being used against them in cases like this one – and this is a huge piece of text to consider – Rose acknowledged that The truth is that it actually happened, and it still makes me uncomfortable.
• Yes, he and his friends went to the house to have sex with a woman who was Rose's girlfriend of two years.
• Yes, Rose repeatedly sent sexually explicit videos to women and asked them to participate in group sex, even though the women refused.
• No, Rose did not understand the concept of consent.
Those things are not up for discussion. Sure, it's naive to think that some of these things don't happen regularly to other athletes, celebrities, and just regular people. But that doesn't mean he can let the findings of the case slide into a memorable and unique career moment in court. Those things actually happened. That was his method in this case.
It is irrelevant that it happened 11 years ago and the trial took place eight years ago. Yes, Rose has had a great career, leading one of the league's powerhouse teams out of a lost decade and into title contention as a homegrown player. It's understandable that Rose's fans, especially Chicago fans, developed a deep emotional connection with him.
But that doesn't mean we can forget about the people whose continued presence in the league has made it harder to follow the sport. Rose's case reminded us of the rights that athletes have and can benefit from. While Rose was likely unaffected by this, the NBA and NBPA jointly negotiated new policies regarding domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse that went into effect within a year of the conclusion of Rose's case. This is an imperfect policy because we live in an imperfect society, and we don't know if it changed the behavior of people in the league. Of course, incidents still happen, and it can sometimes feel as if the main purpose of this policy is to facilitate team building.
All of this makes Rose's retirement complicated. It is nearly impossible to piece together what he did in court and what was revealed about him at trial, but it would be irresponsible not to try to do so. We don't live in a world where we are afforded that luxury. Attempts to separate the two are fundamentally selfish, attempts to neatly separate the superior from the cruel.
The best thing about being a sports fan is discovering what humans are capable of under exceptional circumstances. That's also the worst thing.
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