Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston may have announced his intention to declare for the 2015 NFL draft, but the mess surrounding sexual assault allegations against him is not leaving Tallahassee any time soon.
The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that the accuser (name to be withheld), is suing Florida State University for a violation of Title IX provisions.
According to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Orlando on Wednesday, the complaint claims that Winston’s accuser was subject to a “hostile educational environment.”
The former Florida State student claims she was raped by Winston in an off-campus apartment back in December of 2012. No charges were brought against Winston, who claims that the encounter was consensual. The quarterback was also cleared of any wrongdoing under the university’s code of conduct policy as well.
Florida State President John Trasher had this to say in a statement about the suit filed against his school in a Florida court on Wednesday.
Florida State University is disappointed to learn of this lawsuit. The University has not yet been served and will need time to review the complaint fully before we respond in detail.
After a year of selective news leaks and distorted coverage, Florida State looks forward to addressing these meritless allegations in court. Evidence will show that through its confidential Victim Advocate Program, FSU did everything the plaintiff asked for and that the assertions FSU shirked its Title IX obligations are false.
Both Florida State and the Tallahassee Police Department have been subject to scrutiny over claims that they have acted improperly in relation to crimes allegedly committed by members of the school’s football program. That’s obviously something the claimant will bring up in the trial.
The suit itself alleges that Florida State failed to provide the claimant protections under Title IX.
Had FSU . . . instead complied with its own policies and federal law by promptly investigating plaintiff’s rape and sanctioning Winston while protecting plaintiff’s safety, Winston would have been removed as a threat to plaintiff long before ever suiting up to play football in a Seminoles jersey, and plaintiff would be on campus progressing toward an FSU degree,” the complaint stated. “Instead, plaintiff was forced to leave campus while Winston remains, having suffered no consequences.
So while Winston himself has been cleared of any wrongdoing by both outside officials and Florida State, the school is now going to be placed under a microscope due to the way it allegedly handled the allegations.
Photo: Huffington Post