Derrick Rose's 'Sex Belt' Key to His Defense in Gang-Rape Lawsuit

A photograph of a woman in a “sex belt” may be the smoking gun Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose needs to disprove gang-rape accusations made against him and his buddies in a $20 million lawsuit.

What’s a “sex belt,” you might ask. Retailing for $15 to $30 online (Google search at your own risk), such belts provide leverage for a man when wrapped around a woman’s waist as the man can hold onto straps or bars. The sex belt is central to Rose’s claim the sex between him, his accuser and his various friends one night in 2013 was consensual.

Rose’s attorney recently filed legal documents that suggest the woman sent Rose a photograph of herself wearing the sex belt. TMZ is reporting the woman’s ex-roommate says she was told the woman bought the belt at Rose’s request. The woman also explained to her friend how to use the belt.

A few days after their sexual encounter, the woman complained to her roommate how the multimillionaire basketball star hadn’t reimbursed her for the sex belt. The ex-roommate says the woman told her she was angry and needed to find a lawyer.

Rose has said “I love my life,” which allegedly includes lots of companionable sex with his friends and an assortment of women, and he’s said he’s “very confident” he will be “proven innocent.”

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Named as defendants along with Rose, 26, are Randall Hampton, who “has been Rose’s best friend since sixth grade and is now his main assistant,” according to the lawsuit, and Ryan Allen, a South Holland native who “grew up with Rose and is now his assistant.” Ten others were also named defendants, but the woman does not know their identities. They are referred to only as “Does 1-10.”

The California woman, who met Rose in 2011, claims in the lawsuit that she woke up to find herself covered in lube and her bedroom littered with condoms after Rose and his “assistants” drugged her.

• Read the full lawsuit