Judge issues temporary gag order in Rose rape case

LOS ANGELES - A judge has ordered lawyers handling a rape lawsuit against NBA star Derrick Rose to temporarily stop talking to reporters.

U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald said Thursday he was inclined to issue a longer gag order in light of pretrial publicity about the case, which is scheduled to begin trial on Tuesday in Los Angeles.

Rose is being sued by a 30-year-old woman who accuses him and two of his friends of gang raping her in her apartment in 2013. The woman, identified in court filings only as Jane Doe, dated Rose for two years before the alleged rape.

Rose contends he had consensual sex with the woman.

Fitzgerald accused the woman's attorneys of using the press to put pressure on Rose's new team, the New York Knicks, and force the guard to settle the case.