Florida State settlement with Jameis Winston accuser just more systemic indifference
Florida State University has agreed to a $950k settlement in a Title IX lawsuit brought by Jameis Winston sexual assault accuser, Erica Kinsman.
According to USA Today reporter, Rachel Axon, FSU has agreed to pay Erica Kinsman $950,000 to settle her Title IX lawsuit against the school. Kinsman was the student who accused former Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston of sexual assault in 2013.
While Winston went on to national fame as Florida State’s quarterback, winning a national championship, a Heisman Trophy and being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Kinsman felt compelled to leave Florida State in November of 2013, and has been desperately trying to have her case adjudicated.
Per Axon’s report, FSU will “pay Kinsman $950,000 – an amount that includes attorney’s fees – as well as make a five-year commitment to awareness, prevention and training programs. The lump sum is the largest settlement for Title IX claims regarding indifference to a student’s sexual assault.”
When a settlement like this happens, the first (and usually correct) response is, “Here comes the hush money”, and certainly all indications are that Florida State wanted to get past this and not have certain facts exposed in a court of law.
FSU president John Thrasher said the school agreed this settlement in order to “avoid additional litigation expenses.”
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“We have an obligation to our students, their parents and Florida taxpayers to deal with this case, as we do all litigation, in a financially responsible manner,” Thrasher said in a statement. “With all the economic demands we face, at some point it doesn’t make sense to continue even though we are convinced we would have prevailed.”
They would have prevailed? I guess that’s why the school tried to have Kinsman’s lawsuit dismissed, arguing that an “appropriate person” was not aware of Kinsman’s allegations, even though FSU had previously admitted that senior associate athletics director Monk Bonasorte and football coach Jimbo Fisher were aware of the rape allegation in January 2013, a month after Kinsman first reported the incident to police.
Niether Bonasorte nor Fisher notified FSU’s Title IX coordinator or the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities at that time.
From Axon’s story:
"In her lawsuit Kinsman alleged that FSU was “deliberately indifferent” to her reported sexual assault and that its response was “clearly unreasonable.” She asserted that FSU concealed and obstructed the investigation so as to allow Winston to play football.Kinsman, who left FSU in November 2013 when the case became publicly known, argued that continued harassment denied her of her educational opportunities under Title IX."
Deliberately indifferent is the scary part of all this, and it rings completely true. The culture of blaming young women when a sexual assault allegedly occurs is coupled with the veil of protection that is woven around players, particularly those high-profile players such as Winston. The result is lives that are destroyed, dreams that are crushed, and a system which marches merrily on.
So for the bargain price of $950k, FSU gets to wash their hands clean and cloak their wrongdoing with feel-good catchwords like “commitment to awareness and prevention”.
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I think we’re all pretty aware of sexual assault on college campuses. Perhaps an admission of guilt and less covering of tracks is a better way to help prevent the problem. Maybe…just maybe…if allegations like this are treated with the same sense of urgency that potential NCAA rules violations are, some justice might be served without the heaping portion of hush money.
Well played, FSU. Enjoy your trophies.