Florida State University has delayed its hearing into whether quarterback Jameis Winston broke the student code of conduct by way of an alleged sexual assault in 2012, according to USA Today’s Rachel Axon. Tallahassee police investigated the accusation and decided not to press charges, but this is a separate investigation, undertaken by the school at the accuser’s request in 2014.
FSU’s Jameis Winston hearing could finish day after national title game
The school’s own investigation into the quarterback’s 2012 allegation was scheduled to begin Nov. 17.
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The delay, lobbied for by Winston’s attorney, would create a timeline that would ... well, it would likely work out favorably for the football team’s chances of winning all of its games, to say the least. According to Axon, the hearing would begin Dec. 1, the Monday after FSU’s final regular season game. However, it might so happen that no ruling would impact the Seminoles’ championship chances, because ...
Once hearing is completed, FSU code of conduct allows for 10 class/exam days before decision is due.
— Rachel Axon (@RachelAxon) November 12, 2014 Because of winter break, if the hearing concluded on Dec. 5 any decision would not be due until Jan. 13.
— Rachel Axon (@RachelAxon) November 12, 2014 Jan. 13 would be one day after the College Football Championship. And if Winston were to declare for the NFL Draft at any point in the interim, his standing as an FSU student going forward wouldn’t be at risk anyway.
That timing does not look good as far as the school’s shaky image is concerned and is, at best, an uncomfortable coincidence. It’s perhaps worth remembering that the accuser reportedly first met with the school in August of this year. The case’s publicity also appears to have resulted in an unorthodox system here to begin with.
Axon reports the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights will monitor the “timeliness” of FSU’s handling of the case.
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