Winston Cleared- But Was Justice Denied To All?
Jameis Winston has been a
beast in his first year as starting quarterback for Florida State
University. I admittedly watched his on the field talent & off the
field charm with a tinge of envy. Being a fellow Birmingham native, I
also had a sense of pride when he became the front runner in this year's
downright bizarre Heisman race. Jameis Winston seems to embody the young
man we all yearn to have leading our favorite team.
So when TMZ Sports reported allegations of Winston sexually assaulting a young woman in late 2012, I had feelings of disappointment & disgust. Right or wrong, college athletics, especially football, is a big time business & the athletes responsible are role models. For our children. And for many adults. Nobody wanted to think of 2013's golden boy as a rapist. But just as disturbing is the fact that the Tallahassee Police Department did everything they could think of to make these allegations 'go away'.
In case you've been on vacation in Siberia for the past month, here is a brief timeline of the series of events:
December 7, 2012: Unidentified accuser claims to have been sexually assaulted in the early morning hours of 1:30- 2:00 am. At 4:01 am, she reports the assault to the TPD & has a rape test performed.
January, 2013: Complainant identifies Jameis Winston as the suspect to the TPD.
February, 2013: Winston's attorney is contacted about the case. A week later, he is informed that the case has been closed. TPD never interviewed Winston.
November 11, 2013: TMZ makes an open records request to the TPD involving any cases involving Winston.
November 12, 2013: TPD investigators forward the then-inactive case to State Attorney Willie Meggs' office. Meggs claimed to have no prior knowledge of these allegations. The City Manager sends emails out stating the case went inactive when the accuser decided not to press charges.
November 14, 2013: Winston voluntarily provides a DNA-swab sample to the TPD.
November 16, 2013: Meggs tells the AP that the nearly year delay for police to deliver the case to his office gave witnesses time to talk to lawyers and corroborate their stories about what happened the night of Dec. 7, 2012.
November 20, 2013: The accuser's family provides a statement to the Tampa Bay Times. Included in the statement, a Tallahassee detective told the accuser's attorney that Tallahassee is a "big football town" and her client's life could "be made miserable" if she pursued a sexual assault case against Winston. Later that night, news broke that the DNA sample provided by Winston was a match to the sample taken from the accuser's underwear almost a year earlier.
November 21, 2013: Winston's attorney claims that sex between his client and a woman accusing Winston of sexual assault was consensual.
December 5, 2013: State Attorney clears Winston of all allegations in a press conference. In between his giggles, he admitted things might had gone differently had they known about the case earlier. He also criticized the police for not interviewing more witnesses in the aftermath of the incident. It is also noteworthy that he referred to the accuser as 'the victim' multiple times. Oh, and he was sporting a nice looking FSU tie. Here's the scene outside the courthouse:
It is evident that TPD, at the very minimum, wasn't convinced of Winston's innocence or they would've done more to uncover the truth. Instead, they reminded the girl of the consequences of going after their golden boy. Because of their mishandling of the investigation, potential witnesses were able to secure a story. Conveniently, both witnesses were Winston's teammates. Surveillance video that would have been available from the club where they had been earlier had long been erased when TPD asked for it just weeks ago. DNA reports concluded that blood was found on the accuser's shorts & there had been anal penetration.
Looking at this from a woman's perspective, it's hard not to think something happened to that poor girl that night. She immediately contacted authorities. She was subjected to the humiliation of both vaginal & anal examinations. And yes. They are extremely humiliating & often make the victim feel as though they're being raped all over again. She clearly wasn't looking to extort money, as some have suggested, because it was weeks before she could identify Winston. Furthermore, Winston is not a wealthy man & won't be eligible for the NFL for 2 years from the date of the alleged assault. To this day, she has only dealt with negative publicity in the form of death threats & has had to withdraw from FSU. When people lie in situations like this, it's almost always because they have something to gain. She's gained nothing.
I have no idea if Jameis Winston raped a young girl in late 2012. The only people who do are the ones in the apartment that night. But I am shocked & appalled that in an attempt to sweep this under the rug, both the alleged victim & Winston have been denied justice. There will always be those, myself included, that down deep feel like Winston probably sexually assaulted that girl. And I'm sure there will be no shortage of others who think the accuser is nothing more than a 'money hungry slut'. In the end, the only winners in this debacle are most likely going to be Florida State University's football team.
Not to be lost in all of this is the message it sends. In the era of high school athletes being treated like rock stars, we have caused so many young men to feel like they're above the law. Events like the Winston case do nothing but perpetuate that. And as a lover of college football, that's the saddest part of all....
Thanks for stopping by, y'all...
So when TMZ Sports reported allegations of Winston sexually assaulting a young woman in late 2012, I had feelings of disappointment & disgust. Right or wrong, college athletics, especially football, is a big time business & the athletes responsible are role models. For our children. And for many adults. Nobody wanted to think of 2013's golden boy as a rapist. But just as disturbing is the fact that the Tallahassee Police Department did everything they could think of to make these allegations 'go away'.
In case you've been on vacation in Siberia for the past month, here is a brief timeline of the series of events:
December 7, 2012: Unidentified accuser claims to have been sexually assaulted in the early morning hours of 1:30- 2:00 am. At 4:01 am, she reports the assault to the TPD & has a rape test performed.
January, 2013: Complainant identifies Jameis Winston as the suspect to the TPD.
February, 2013: Winston's attorney is contacted about the case. A week later, he is informed that the case has been closed. TPD never interviewed Winston.
November 11, 2013: TMZ makes an open records request to the TPD involving any cases involving Winston.
November 12, 2013: TPD investigators forward the then-inactive case to State Attorney Willie Meggs' office. Meggs claimed to have no prior knowledge of these allegations. The City Manager sends emails out stating the case went inactive when the accuser decided not to press charges.
November 14, 2013: Winston voluntarily provides a DNA-swab sample to the TPD.
November 16, 2013: Meggs tells the AP that the nearly year delay for police to deliver the case to his office gave witnesses time to talk to lawyers and corroborate their stories about what happened the night of Dec. 7, 2012.
November 20, 2013: The accuser's family provides a statement to the Tampa Bay Times. Included in the statement, a Tallahassee detective told the accuser's attorney that Tallahassee is a "big football town" and her client's life could "be made miserable" if she pursued a sexual assault case against Winston. Later that night, news broke that the DNA sample provided by Winston was a match to the sample taken from the accuser's underwear almost a year earlier.
November 21, 2013: Winston's attorney claims that sex between his client and a woman accusing Winston of sexual assault was consensual.
December 5, 2013: State Attorney clears Winston of all allegations in a press conference. In between his giggles, he admitted things might had gone differently had they known about the case earlier. He also criticized the police for not interviewing more witnesses in the aftermath of the incident. It is also noteworthy that he referred to the accuser as 'the victim' multiple times. Oh, and he was sporting a nice looking FSU tie. Here's the scene outside the courthouse:
It is evident that TPD, at the very minimum, wasn't convinced of Winston's innocence or they would've done more to uncover the truth. Instead, they reminded the girl of the consequences of going after their golden boy. Because of their mishandling of the investigation, potential witnesses were able to secure a story. Conveniently, both witnesses were Winston's teammates. Surveillance video that would have been available from the club where they had been earlier had long been erased when TPD asked for it just weeks ago. DNA reports concluded that blood was found on the accuser's shorts & there had been anal penetration.
Looking at this from a woman's perspective, it's hard not to think something happened to that poor girl that night. She immediately contacted authorities. She was subjected to the humiliation of both vaginal & anal examinations. And yes. They are extremely humiliating & often make the victim feel as though they're being raped all over again. She clearly wasn't looking to extort money, as some have suggested, because it was weeks before she could identify Winston. Furthermore, Winston is not a wealthy man & won't be eligible for the NFL for 2 years from the date of the alleged assault. To this day, she has only dealt with negative publicity in the form of death threats & has had to withdraw from FSU. When people lie in situations like this, it's almost always because they have something to gain. She's gained nothing.
I have no idea if Jameis Winston raped a young girl in late 2012. The only people who do are the ones in the apartment that night. But I am shocked & appalled that in an attempt to sweep this under the rug, both the alleged victim & Winston have been denied justice. There will always be those, myself included, that down deep feel like Winston probably sexually assaulted that girl. And I'm sure there will be no shortage of others who think the accuser is nothing more than a 'money hungry slut'. In the end, the only winners in this debacle are most likely going to be Florida State University's football team.
Not to be lost in all of this is the message it sends. In the era of high school athletes being treated like rock stars, we have caused so many young men to feel like they're above the law. Events like the Winston case do nothing but perpetuate that. And as a lover of college football, that's the saddest part of all....
Thanks for stopping by, y'all...
Comments
Post a Comment