Cheryl Nance, Staff Writer
Jameis Winston has garnered national media attention, which is exactly what a person wants if he’s a star college football quarterback who’s looking to go pro. But in Winston’s case, the press isn’t all good. The Florida State University quarterback has been in trouble for shoplifting, shouting vulgarities from a table top in the student union, and participating in a BB gun fight. But those are all petty issues compared to what he was accused of in the early morning hours of Dec. 7, 2012.
Erica Kinsman, who has identified herself publicly, says she believes something was slipped into her drink at a local bar causing her to become woozy and disoriented. The next thing she remembers is being in a taxi with three unknown men and then being raped by one of them in an off-campus apartment. She would later confirm her attacker was Jameis Winston. For his part, Winston says the sex was consensual. He even has two eyewitnesses, who are both his friends and teammates, to corroborate his story. On Kinsman’s side is another student who had a sexual encounter with Winston. A victim advocate with FSU says although that student’s story doesn’t portray a crime, it does shed light on Winston’s questionable character and what may be a recurring problem.
Due to a very botched investigation, the truth may never be fully known. Officer Scott Argulo of the Tallahassee police department failed to follow through on leads supplied by the victim that would have quickly identified her attacker and recovered valuable evidence. Florida State University is also at fault here. Under federal law a school is required to promptly investigate any sexual assault accusations, but they didn’t look into the matter until after the football season ended. Because of these shortcomings, the local prosecutor said there was not enough evidence to charge Winston. And now that he’s declared himself eligible for the draft, Winston is no longer FSU’s problem. He could however, become Tampa’s.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the first pick of the draft scheduled on April 30, 2015. The team is desperately in need of a quarterback, and Winston is believed by many to be the number one choice. No one is questioning Winston’s athletic ability. In his last season at FSU, the Heisman trophy winner won 26 consecutive games before losing in the semifinal playoffs. He has proven himself on the field. It is his actions off the field that are being questioned.
That is the larger debate right now. Does character matter? A quick look at the problems just within the last year in the National Football League tells you it should. Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, Ray McDonald, and Greg Hardy are all professional players that have been charged with violent crimes. In the case of Hardy and MacDonald, their teams released them because of their behavior, but new teams signed them only a few months later. Rice, who was indicted for punching his girlfriend in the face and knocking her unconscious, was terminated from the Ravens and suspended from the NFL. But he won his appeal and is now a free agent hoping to be picked up this year.
Besides the bad press, these players are costly to their teams through loss of endorsements and salaries paid while on suspension. The NFL is a business after all, and while only some teams seem concerned about ethics, you can bet all of them are watching their money. The behavior of players eligible for the draft this year is being closely scrutinized. It was reported that Winston was even secretly followed on flights in order to observe him unaware. From all accounts, it appears he is conducting himself in a professional manner. According to ESPN, former Bucs coach Jon Gruden “believes Winston has learned from past off-field incidents and is ready to be the face of a franchise.”
As for his accuser, Kinsman firmly stands behind her story. She appears in a recently released documentary, The Hunting Ground, which is about the prevalence of sexual assaults on college campuses and how little is done about them. Filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering expose how universities across the country tend to blame the victims and the ridiculous punishments meted out to the few who are found guilty of rape. Penances have included being made to write a book report and creating a poster which lists ten ways to approach a girl. The documentary was inspired by a multitude of students writing and speaking to them about their similar experiences after viewing the duo’s previous film The Invisible War, which is about sexual assault in the military. Both films have sparked movements to take the investigations of rape out of the hands of those in charge and put under control of a separate, unbiased organization.
Laws are also in the process of being changed. In April 2014 the White House pressed upon colleges and universities to do more to prevent sexual assaults. Later this year a new federal law called the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination (SaVE) Act will be in effect. It will require schools to annually report incidents of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. New standards will also be in place for hearings and disciplinary procedures, and more education will be provided for prevention and awareness.
While all of this is a step in the right direction, it doesn’t answer the immediate question about whether the Buccaneers should draft Jameis Winston. With the recent string of troubled players finding a home with another team, it seems likely if the Bucs don’t take Winston someone else will. As outstanding as it would be for the NFL to make an example out of Winston and refuse to hire him, the truth is he was never even formally charged with rape. But that doesn’t mean the Bucs should take him and hope for the best. As a respected business in this town, the team should take a stand against bringing suspect characters into our community. Players are looked at as role models by our youth, who should not be emulating someone with Winston’s reputation. Rather they should be taught that behavior like his won’t be tolerated. It may be the only way to break the sense of entitlement and protection these athletes seem to learn somewhere along the way to the big leagues.
