40 years of college football's sexual assault problem

40 Years of College Football's Sexual-Assault Problem
The case of FSU's Jameis Winston highlights a long and ugly history of universities dropping the ball on rape allegations.

Update: ESPN is reporting that Jameis Winston will not be charged in connection to an alleged sexual assault last December.



In November, TMZ reported that a former Florida State University student had accused the school's quarterback, Jameis Winston, of rape nearly a year ago. The accuser's lawyer says that after she came forward the Tallahassee police tried to dissuade her from pressing charges, warning her that the city is "a big football town" that might not treat her warmly if she leveled these allegations. Indeed, since her charges became public, some Seminoles fans have floated conspiracy theories that a rival school or Heisman Trophy contender may have put the accuser up to it. Prosecutors, for their part, will hold a press conference on Thursday afternoon to announce whether they'll go forward with the case.

Ultimately, Winston—whose DNA was found at the scene and who claims the sex was consensual—may not be charged. But the case has highlighted a disturbing and long-standing pattern in college football. At top football schools the sport is a major moneymaker, and many big-name universities (and law enforcement authorities in those jurisdictions) have too often shielded players accused of rape—even going so far as to smear and punish victims who speak out. Here's a brief guide to college football's sordid history of addressing sexual assault:


University of Notre Dame, 1974: An undergraduate accused six Fighting Irish players of rape. A university administrator called the woman, who later spent a month in psychiatric care, a "queen of the slums with a mattress tied to her back." No charges were filed.

Notre Dame, 1976: Two of the Notre Dame players accused in 1974, along with one other player, were accused of rape by a 17-year-old student. "I was told to shut up and mind my own business," a witness to the assault later told the National Catholic Reporter's Melinda Henneberger. The witness, a resident advisor at nearby St. Mary's College, had been informed by administrators that one of the players had been involved in another unreported rape, in addition to the previous 1974 incident. No charges were filed.

University of Colorado, 1989: Twenty-four Buffaloes were arrested in a three-year span under coach Bill McCartney for everything from rape to illegally skinning a rabbit. Another former player, linebacker Miles Kusayanagi, was accused of being "the Duct-Tape Rapist," responsible for eight sexual assaults in Boulder. (He was convicted on four counts of first-degree sexual assault.) McCartney told a local news reporter that another alleged rape by one of his players couldn't have been rape because it wasn't violent enough. Besides, he told Sports Illustrated, it could be worse: "You'll notice that we haven't had anybody shoot anybody."

(for those of you who do not know, or remember, bill mccartney is founder of "promisekeepers"
and cost the taxpayers of colorado nearly a million dollars when he ran out of his CU contract to run that woman-hating organization)

. . . .

http://www.motherjones.com/media/2013/12/college-football-sexual-assualt-jameis-winston