Florida State defends how it handled sexual assault investigation of QB Jameis Winston

[flowers]

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/florida-state-defends-handled-jameis-winston-case-article-1.1969974

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida State University released a document Friday morning defending itself in the handling of the sexual assault investigation of quarterback Jameis Winston, detailing its own timeline of events.

The university said in a statement it was publicly releasing the series of events that have transpired since the incident in December 2012 because of “misinformation in the media.” The university did not name Winston in the release, but referred to allegations against “a prominent athlete.”

Florida State said the only people aware of the incident were Tallahassee police, campus police and the Victims Advocate Program before Jan. 2013. The decision not to seek charges was made after Winston’s lawyer said the Tallahassee Police Department was “no longer pursuing the case” and Winston and his roommates said the sex was consensual.

The release states the woman was not made available for an interview with the school until Aug. 6, 2014. The woman’s lawyers have maintained that she was willing to talk throughout the process.

[flowers]

FSU and Tallahassee police accused of deliberately stalling investigation of rape charges against football champion Jameis Winston

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2789214/fsu-tallahassee-police-accused-deliberately-stalling-investigation-rape-charges-against-football-champion-jameis-winston-kept-state-prosecutor-week.html

Charges of sexual assault against college football champion Jameis Winston from Florida State University that were dropped in December last year are being re-examined once again.

An independent investigator claims to have found evidence that FSU administrators and Tallahassee police 'took steps to both hide, and then hinder' the investigation.

A reporter for Fox Sports News has uncovered thousands of pages of documents.

Winston was the target of a rape investigation after a fellow student said he sexually assaulted her while she was intoxicated back in December 2012 as a teammate filmed the act.

[mountaineer]

Disgusting, but not surprising. Big football schools - even little football schools, for that matter - have always protected their felonious stars. I'm conflicted, though. FSU is playing Notre Dame next week. Which team to support when you hate them both? 

[DCPatriot]

Going to be interesting to see which NFL team decides to draft him?

Talk about a reclamation project.....   

[mountaineer]

Report: Florida State looking into Jameis Winston autographs
Sports Illustrated

Florida State's athletic compliance department has begun to look into Jameis Winston autographs authenticated by the same company who has been linked to suspended Georgia running back Todd Gurley, reports ESPN.

Gurley was suspended indefinitely last week for allegedly accepting money for autographs. According to ESPN, James Spence Authentication certified more than 500 autographs of Gurley, and Florida State is now looking into how JSA has more than 340 authentic Winston autographs on its website.

ESPN also reports that after the Seminoles beat Syracuse on Saturday, head coach Jimbo Fisher asked Winston if he's ever signed autographs for money, to which Winston said no.

After the game, Fisher told reporters that he wasn't concerned about the autograph company being linked to Winston and that the quarterback signs things for fans all the time.   ... 

The referenced ESPN story is here.  Excerpt:

Even as Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher says he believes quarterback Jameis Winston didn't sign autographs for money, a source tells ESPN that the university's athletic compliance department has begun to look into how so many Winston autographs were authenticated by a single company.

ESPN has learned that after the team's 38-20 win Saturday against Syracuse, Fisher approached Winston and asked him if he signed autographs for money. Winston told Fisher, according to the source, that he did not.

Fisher then told reporters he wasn't concerned that an autograph authentication business, which recently was linked to suspended Georgia running back Todd Gurley, also was linked to Winston.  James Spence Authentication certified more than 500 autographs of Gurley, who is being investigated for allegedly taking money for signings.

A cursory search on JSA's website found more than 340 certified Winston autographs. An additional search later on Monday revealed 600 more Winston autographs that had been authenticated and logged into the company's website verification system for a total of more than 950 autographs.

FSU has not been contacted on the matter by the ACC or the NCAA, but the university's compliance department has begun to specifically look into how JSA received such a large number of signatures. ...