Rolling Stone removes story on NBA's handling of Derrick Rose rape case

Rolling Stone has removed an online article about the NBA’s handling of the Derrick Rose civil rape trial over what the magazine calls “substantial flaws.”

The move comes as a $7.85 million defamation trial launches against the magazine over its November 2014 story “A Rape on Campus,” a now-discredited story about a gang rape at the University of Virginia.

Politico first reported that the magazine had removed the article published Oct. 12, titled “Why Derrick Rose Rape Trial May Wreck NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s Legacy.” Rose has been accused along with two friends in a lawsuit of raping an incapacitated woman. They claim the sex was consensual. Criminal charges have not been filed. 

The article made the claim that league commissioner Silver has been silent over the Rose allegations, despite taking a tough stance on other players accused of misconduct, including suspending former Hornets player Jeffrey Taylor for 24 games after Taylor pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic violence assault in 2014.

In an editor’s note posted online, the magazine said staff there removed the aticle Oct. 14 when the flaws became apparent after publication.

“The decision to remove the article was ours alone, and we apologize to anyone that may have been affected,” the editor’s note reads.

The note doesn’t detail what errors existed in the article. But a source told Politico the NBA contacted the magazine after the article’s publication to dispute several assertions it made. That initially led to two corrections, according to Politico. 

In a cached version of the article available online, a single correction indicates the story was changed to reflect when Silver banned former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, who was booted from the NBA over racist comments in 2014.

“This story has been modified to reflect that Silver banned Donald Sterling after 11 days,” the correction reads. “It was 87 days into his tenure.”

No other correction is apparent. The magazine later removed the entire story.