Quarterback Jameis Winston helped win Florida State the national championship. That doesn’t mean the school will drop an investigation into the circumstances surrounding an incident that led to a rape allegation levied at Winston. Strangely, Winston is not the subject of the current university charges.
Adam Weinstein reports at Deadspin that the school pursues a Title IX investigation into the allegations, which first surfaced in late 2012, against the freshman quarterback. But instead of going after the alleged perpetrator, the school pursues two alleged spectators. Weinstein writes, “Weeks after leading the Florida State Seminoles to a national championship, quarterback Jameis Winston was quietly interrogated by university administrators, and two of his teammates were brought up on school conduct charges related to allegations that Winston raped a fellow student.”
The two teammates allegedly watched Winston have sex with the woman who accused him of rape. Teammate Chris Casher walked into a room “to see if the female would agree to allow Casher to participate in the sex acts that were occurring.” She said no, so he allegedly documented the sex on his cell phone, evidence which Casher, the ACC’s rookie of the year and Winston’s roommate, later deleted. The woman’s refusal of Casher could possibly support Winston’s argument that he and his accuser had engaged in consensual sex.
According to Deadspin, Casher and teammate Ronald Darby stand accused of university charges regarding “conduct of a sexual nature that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment for another person” and “acts that invade the privacy of another person.” The players, if found responsible, could be expelled from the team–and the school. Such an action, punishing the lesser known teammates as the star walks, would likely put Florida State on trial in the media. The school may be building a case against its quarterback based on its investigation of his teammates.
The state attorney, a year after the alleged incident, declined to press charges against Winston in December.
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