As you may, or may not be aware, Florida quarterback Jameis Winston just won the Heisman Trophy, but there is a twist, allegations of rape, and a coverup by local authorities:
But even as Winston became only the second redshirt freshman to win the Heisman, questions swirled about a rape allegation made against him more than a year ago but made public only last month.
Prosecutors declined this month to file a charge against Winston, but a news conference by his accuser's lawyer the day before the Heisman presentation kept fueling the story.
Asked about the case on Friday, Winston -- who has maintained the sexual activity was consensual -- told reporters: "I knew I did nothing wrong."
The lawyer for his accuser is saying that
the investigation of the report by local law enforcement was slapdash and flawed, at best:
The lawyer for a young woman who claimed to have been raped by Florida State University quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate Jameis Winston blasted police and prosecutors' handling of the case on Friday and called for further investigation.
State Attorney Willie Meggs announced on December 5 he would not file charges against Winston, the front runner to win college football's top award, after accusations surfaced that Winston assaulted a woman in December 2012 before his college playing career began.
Meggs said there was insufficient evidence to charge Winston, whose lawyer has said the football player and his 19-year-old accuser had consensual sex.
Patricia Carroll, a lawyer for the young woman, told reporters she believed authorities mishandled the investigation.
Carroll said prosecutors deleted part of the accuser's medical records showing her injuries, did not question important witnesses who described the accuser as "hysterical" after the incident and delayed testing blood and urine samples.
"We perceive that as a problem that warrants further investigation," said Carroll, a former prosecutor.
We also have allegations that the investigating officer tried to get the complainant drop the case, telling her, "
The woman's family has said that a detective had warned her attorney that Tallahassee is a 'big football town' and that her life could be miserable if she pursued the case." Also note that the investigator looks to have been
angling to moonlight for the Florida State boosters association.
I am assuming that Jamais Wilson is innocent. That is what innocent until proven guilty means.
But the investigation here is pure balderdash.
What we do appear to have in Tallahassee is a culture in the law enforcement community regarding the intersection of college Football and Sexual assault which is geared toward creating impunity for the athletes.
(on edit)
To clarify, since this has come up.
My thesis is that big time college sport is antithetical to education, and subject to unwarranted support from academic and law enforcement authorities, and this case appears to be illustrative of this, with innocence or guilt being irrelevant to this point.