(REUTERS) – Derrick Rose, the 2011 National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player, is being sued by a former girlfriend who claims he and two friends drugged and gang-raped her in 2013, TMZ reported.Rose’s accuser, identified only as Jane Doe, said she and the three-time All-Star Chicago Bulls guard dated from 2011 to 2013, the celebrity news website reported.
In August 2013, she said, Rose and two friends invited her to Rose’s home in Beverly Hills, California, where they slipped a drug into her drink with the aim of raping her, TMZ reported.
The woman said she escaped from the house, but later that night, Rose and his friends broke into her apartment and gang-raped her while she was incapacitated, it said.
TMZ said Rose’s accuser, who is seeking unspecified damages, said she waited for two years to file the suit because she was “ashamed and embarrassed” of what happened. It did not say where the suit was filed.
A spokeswoman for Rose said in a statement the “plaintiff’s allegations are completely false and without any factual basis”.
“This is nothing more than a desperate attempt to shake down a highly respected and successful athlete,” the statement said. “Mr Rose was in a non-exclusive, consensual sexual relationship with the plaintiff for over two years.”
“We have complete confidence that the case will be dismissed and that Mr Rose will be vindicated. This lawsuit is outrageous.”
Rose, who missed a large portion of last season due to a knee injury, averaged 17.7 points, 4.9 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 51 games.
“We just learned about this matter and do not know all the facts,” the Bulls said in a statement. “It would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”