The Jameis Winston Mess

An easy lesson -- every time you think you've seen everything in college football you're wrong.

Tonight TMZ reported that Florida State redshirt freshman quarterback Jameis Winston is being investigated for sexual assault.

1. What do we know? 

Let's start with what we know because there are still many unknowns about this case.

On December 7th, 2012 -- just over 11 months ago -- a police report was filed alleging that a female victim had been sexually assaulted in an apartment in Tallahassee, Florida. The alleged victim met with police early on the morning of the complaint.  The victim, who acknowledges drinking that night, said a sexual assault happened between 1:30 and 2 in the morning. During their investigation the police took physical evidence and photos of the victim's injuries. (We do not know what this evidence is. Whether it involves DNA, blood, we don't know much about the evidence at this point). 

The suspect was described as being between 5'9" and 5'11" and weighing 240 pounds with a muscular build.

For the past 11 months the Tallahassee police investigated the alleged sexual assault and thus far had undertaken no action, while leaving the case open.

Jameis Winston, who redshirted at FSU last year, has been identified as the suspect in the case by TMZ, but Winston's attorney denies any improper behavior by his client.

Florida State issued a statement tonight that said Winston's status with the team had not changed.

Those are the facts as best they can be summarized.

Now let's unpack these facts by examining some of the most common questions most of you would have.

2. Why is this story coming out now?

Probably because the victim or her advocates are frustrated by the inaction on the part of the Tallahassee police department. It has been eleven months and nothing has happened. If you take Winston's attorney at his word, Jameis hasn't even been interviewed by authorities.

Based on the way the story has been leaked, it''s reasonable to believe that the victim or her advocates believe that Winston is receiving preferential treatment from police in some form or fashion.

After waiting around for months for a resolution, they finally decided to go public.  

An 11 month open investigation into a sexual assault charge is ludicrous no matter which side of the issue you're on, unfair to the victim or the individual who has been wrongfully accused. (I don't buy into the timing conspiracies here. If that was the case, why not leak this news the week of the Clemson game? Or the week before the season started? Or right before the BCS title game? I think the victim and her advocates just got tired of waiting and became fearful that no action was going to happen, if ever, until the entire season was over).

A case like this really isn't that difficult to resolve -- there either is enough evidence to bring sexual assault charges or there isn't.

Why is nothing being done one way or the other? 

Leaking the story to the media is a clear attempt to force the police department to finally take action and bring this case towards resolution.

3. What is Winston's actual story?

According to his attorney Winston hasn't been interviewed by authorities about these allegations. 

Again, how in the world is that possible?

If Winston's attorney is being selective with his verb choice, he could be purposefully misleading here. 

Has Winston provided a written statement to authorities outlining his version of the night's events?

That's probably the most likely outcome here. 

After all, if you found out you were accused of sexual assault and had nothing to do with it, wouldn't you want to immediately tell your side of the story? One of the safest ways to do that would be via a written statement. It doesn't allow any follow-up questions and your legal team can review your story in advance.

Of course, Winston could have immediately lawyered up and refused to cooperate with authorities at all, but that seems unlikely since in that situation you're basically daring authorities to charge your client with a crime.

So it's reasonable to assume that Winston has provided some version of his story to police.

If he truly hasn't provided any story at all, then what have police been doing about these allegations for the past 11 months? 

4. Keep in mind that sex crimes are among the most difficult to prosecute.

Why has there been 11 months of inaction? 

The most likely explanation is that this case is somewhere in the middle ground between 100% consensual sex and 100% sexual assault. 

We like to believe that there's a clear delineation between appropriate and inappropriate sexual conduct. 

Often, it's much more murky than that. 

If Winston was 100% innocent it's likely this case would have quickly been closed and it never would have gone public. If Winston was 100% guilty, he'd have already been charged with a crime.

Here we have an 11 month investigation with no action undertaken. 

That suggests the truth is somewhere between these two ends of the sexual activity spectrum. 

That's not surprising since generally sex crimes are he said, she said in nature. That is, a man and a woman are telling two different stories about what actually happened. Both can believe that they are completely in the right. 

And remember that the standard here is guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Your actions can be immoral without being illegal.

So what happened that night?

Chances are investigators aren't even certain.  

5. Is it fair that sex accusations against men are made public before any charges are filed while victims are protected by rape-shield laws?

Put simply, no. 

Let's assume for just a moment that Jameis Winston has done nothing wrong at all. 

You can't unring the bell of a sexual assault allegation. 

Once it goes public your name is tarnished forever.

If Jameis Winston is 100% innocent then he's been wronged by this process.

But I think situations such as these are rare for a couple of reasons. 

First, keep in mind that making a demonstrably false accusation is liable under the law. That is, if you make false statements to the police, you've committed a crime. So it's not like a woman -- or man -- can use this shield as a weapon.    

Second, remember that sex crimes are dramatically underreported in this country. A woman is much more likely to keep quiet about sexual asssalt than she is to press charges. This woman contacted authorities within a couple of hours of an alleged sexual assault. The quicker you report a sexual assault crime, the more legitimacy you have with investigators and with physical examiners. 

Why would this woman subject herself to intense questioning, a barrage of physical examinations by strangers -- it's reasonable to assume she was treated by medical professionals that night to assess her well-being and examine her for signs of physical trauma -- if nothing at all happened to her? 

What happened to her might not be a crime, but it's reasonable to believe that she believes it is. 

6. But Florida State says Jameis Winston is 6'4" 218 and the police report says the suspect's 5'9" to 5'11" and 240 pounds.

Easy there, Matlock.

Please stop with these Tweets and emails.

It's amazing to me how eager fans are to believe that their own players are saints while their hated rivals are devils.  

The weight is pretty close to Winston's listed weight and the height might only be off by a couple of inches. Is Winston actually 6'4" or is his height exaggerated, as is common with college athletes, and he's actually 6'2"? If so, could you confuse a guy who is 5"11 with one who is 6'2"? Uh, yeah.

Even if the height is off by several inches, consider the difficult circumstances of a sexual assault.    

Was the suspect standing during the alleged sexual assault or laying down? Was it dark in the apartment? Had the victim been drinking?

We don't know many of the circumstances surrounding this alleged sexual assault right now. 

There could be tons of reasons why the height doesn't match perfectly.

My point, those of you incessantly Tweeting about this like it's the grits in "My Cousin Vinny," are giving far too much weight to this bit of information.

7. How long has Florida State known about the investigation and that Winston was considered a suspect?

Florida State's statement says nothing about when they became aware of this investigation, just that Winston remains eligible to play.

So did Florida State find out this week like the rest of us? Or has the school known for months?

You want a major story, what if Florida State knew their star quarterback was the subject of a sexual assault investigation and played him anyway?

Wow. 

Keep in mind that Ohio State suspended Carlos Hyde three games for allegedly striking a woman at a club before the season started. (No charges were filed in that case). Vanderbilt immediately suspended four players and kicked them out of school when they were merely investigated for sexual assault, before any charges had been filed in the case.

How many Florida State administrators knew about this case? Did they conduct their own investigation or just accept their quarterback's word for it? If they conducted their own investigation how did they do it? Was Winston treated differently by FSU becasuse he was a five-star Heisman-caliber quarterback? Would they have let a kicker or a third-string defensive end keep playing?

All of these questions just lead to bigger questions. 

If your star quarterback is being investigated for felony sexual assault, is the investigation itself enough to strip away the privilege of playing football on scholarship at a university? Can you really play him while the investigation is ongoing even if you believe he's innocent? After all, how reliable can your investigation actually be? What if he gets charged with a crime the week before the BCS title game and you played him all season long knowing the charges might drop at any moment? On the other hand, what if he never gets charged with a crime and you punished him for a felony that never materialized?

How do you handle a situation like this?

Especially when you're a university, after all this isn't the Lakers and Kobe Bryant. What message are you sending to other women on campus, who might very well be victims of sexual assault themselves one day, if you don't take the allegations seriously enough to keep someone from playing football? 

8. What happens next?

You got me.

Until there's a full release of the police's investigation into this sexual assault, Jameis Winston's future, Florida State's championship dreams, the Heisman trophy, and, most importantly, a young woman's sexual assault allegations against a star quarterback and a powerful business enterprise, all hang in the balance.

And maybe the most important lesson of all is this one -- can we please stop pretending that we know which athletes are good guys and which athletes are bad guys -- based on a few football games. 

Remember back when getting paid for autographs seemed like a scandal?

Welcome to college football, what a mess.   

Written by
Clay Travis is the founder of the fastest growing national multimedia platform, OutKick, that produces and distributes engaging content across sports and pop culture to millions of fans across the country. OutKick was created by Travis in 2011 and sold to the Fox Corporation in 2021. One of the most electrifying and outspoken personalities in the industry, Travis hosts OutKick The Show where he provides his unfiltered opinion on the most compelling headlines throughout sports, culture, and politics. He also makes regular appearances on FOX News Media as a contributor providing analysis on a variety of subjects ranging from sports news to the cultural landscape. Throughout the college football season, Travis is on Big Noon Kickoff for Fox Sports breaking down the game and the latest storylines. Additionally, Travis serves as a co-host of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, a three-hour conservative radio talk program syndicated across Premiere Networks radio stations nationwide. Previously, he launched OutKick The Coverage on Fox Sports Radio that included interviews and listener interactions and was on Fox Sports Bet for four years. Additionally, Travis started an iHeartRadio Original Podcast called Wins & Losses that featured in-depth conversations with the biggest names in sports. Travis is a graduate of George Washington University as well as Vanderbilt Law School. Based in Nashville, he is the author of Dixieland Delight, On Rocky Top, and Republicans Buy Sneakers Too.