Attorney for Jameis Winston accuser says FSU letter is 'full of errors'
Hours after Florida State issued an open letter with a timeline of its handling of the Jameis Winston sexual assault case, an attorney for Winston’s accuser wrote in a statement to the Orlando Sentinel that the university’s letter is “full of errors” and is nothing more than “preventative damage control.”
John Clune, a Title IX attorney for the woman who accused Winston of rape in December 2012, has been outspoken in saying that the university did not meet proper Title IX requirements under federal law that require an immediate investigation of any sexual assault accusations. He wrote in his statement that the university knows a “big story is about to break” in the New York Times, which prompted the open letter.
From the Sentinel:
“Florida State knows that there is a big story about to break from the NY Times and their PR team is trying to do a little preventative damage control," Clune wrote in a statement to the Orlando Sentinel. "The obvious news in this statement is that senior athletic department officials met with Winston and his lawyer one month after the rape occurred then decided to hide it from the Title IX office.”
Clune asserts that the university sidestepped laws in order to “protect” the Seminoles football program.
“The statement’s timeline is full of errors but it shows that we can add both [the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act] and the victim-advocate privilege to the list of laws Florida State is willing to break to protect this football program. What else can the school do wrong in this mess? The whole country is moving toward improving the response to campus rape while Florida State still backpedals the other way.”
In the open letter, the school maintains it kept quiet about the situation for the past 20 months for one reason: to “protect (its) students, who are after all (its) highest priority.”
“We did not want you to confuse our silence with idleness, a lack of caring or, as some have alleged, an institutional conspiracy to protect a star athlete,” the letter, which can be read in full at Warchant.com, read.
Winston, the winner of the 2013 Heisman Trophy, was never charged in the case due to a lack of evidence.
For more Florida State news, visit Warchant.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
