Florida State has filed a motion for dismissal regarding the federal Title IX lawsuit filed by the woman who accused former FSU quarterback Jameis Winston of a sexual assault.
Federal Title IX regulations require that universities such as FSU follow proper procedures when it comes to allegations of sexual assault. Among other things, the lawsuit brought by Erica Kinsman alleges the school displayed "deliberate indifference" about the allegation, and that head football coach Jimbo Fisher and associate athletics director Monk Bonasarte knew of the accusations but did not alert school administrators in order to protect Winston, according to tampabay.com.
FSU disputed that premise in its motion, which read in part: "Far from being deliberately indifferent to Kinsman, FSU provided her the services of its confidential Victim Advocate Program within hours of her alleged sexual assault and continuously thereafter."
Winston was not charged by police and was also cleared in a student code of conduct hearing, but allegations of a shoddy investigation by local police have helped cast a longer shadow on Winston's character. While NFL clubs look into the backgrounds of NFL prospects with character questions in the weeks before the draft, the league itself is doing more this year to assist in that effort.
The alleged assault occured in December of 2012, but didn't come to the attention of the state attorney until nearly a year later, about the time that news of the allegation reached the media. Winston won the Heisman Trophy just weeks later. As a third-year sophomore, he declared early eligibility for the NFL draft in January and is considered a strong candidate to be the No. 1 overall draft pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Winston visited the Buccaneers' facility last week.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
