David Cornwell, a lawyer advising Florida State QB Jameis Winston's family, tweeted Monday morning that he was going to tell Florida State that Winston would cooperate with the school's Title IX investigation.
The school is investigating Winston after the allegations of sexual assault against him in December 2012 by a woman who was a student at Florida State at the time. By Title IX rule, the school is required to investigate all cases of alleged sexual assault.
Today, wIll advise FSU that JW will cooperate with Title 9 investigation. Looks forward to clearing his name.
— David Cornwell (@wmdavidcornwell) September 23, 2014 The investigation had previously been suspended. In April, the Department of Education opened an investigation into Florida State's handling of the case to see if the school had violated Title IX protocol. Winston had reportedly been questioned in January where he declined to offer much, if any, information.
Florida State has consistently declined comment on the Title IX investigation citing privacy reasons. Earlier in September a lawyer for the accuser said he expected the university to bring conduct charges against Winston. The lawyer said the accuser was interviewed by the school in August.
Winston was not charged with sexual assault by Florida state attorney Willie Meggs after Meggs cited a lack of evidence in the case. The incident became public in November 2013 after an 11-month delay in the case.
Winston's Florida State teammates Ronald Darby and Chris Casher were present in the apartment when the incident occurred. Both signed affadavits saying they believed the sex between Winston and the accuser to be consensual. Both Darby and Casher faced conduct charges for violating the university's code of conduct for their role in the matter. Casher was reportedly charged with recording images without consent.
The hearings for both players wrapped up over the summer.
It's possible Winston could be charged under Title IX laws without the presence of criminal charges. Oklahoma LB Frank Shannon was suspended for the 2014 season after a Title IX investigation into an alleged sexual assault. Oklahoma prosecutors declined to file charges against Shannon.
Winston was suspended for Florida State's win over Clemson for shouting an obscene phrase in the student union the Tuesday before the game. He was initially suspended for a half and then had the suspension extended to an entire game after he reportedly downplayed his role in the incident to FSU officials.
On Monday, coach Jimbo Fisher said a miscommunication was to blame for WInston wearing his pads and warming up with the team before being told to remove them.
- - - - - - -
Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
From Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo Sports - David Cornwell tweets Jameis Winston will cooperate with FSU's Title IX investigation
No comments:
Post a Comment