As is usually the case with settlements nearing $1 million in size, the party ponying up falls back on the old standby.
Florida State has settled a federal Title IX lawsuit with Erica Kinsman, a former student who said she was raped by quarterback Jameis Winston in 2012.
The settlement was announced by her attorneys on Monday, more than a year after she initially filed the complaint in federal court.
FSU agreed to 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.
“I will always be disappointed that I had to leave the school I dreamed of attending since I was little,” Kinsman said in a statement. “I am happy that FSU has committed to continue making changes in order to ensure a safer environment for all students.”
FSU did not admit to liability in the settlement, which university president John Thrasher said the school agreed to in order to avoid additional litigation expenses.
“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.”
Yeah, sure. Very noble of you.
Too bad you can’t get the Tallahassee police to pitch in.
Get The Picture 
Auburn bought their championship for only $180K.
Looks like both parties in Tallahassee got screwed.
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I was going to say that the woman should have continued to fight it, because she clearly had FSU on the road. Then I remembered her name was made public a long time ago, and I am sure she is tired of being vilified and called a slut on social media.
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“road” should be “run”
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With the discovery complete and the Fed Title IX case still ongoing, they couldn’t have saved money by settling.
Can you imagine Coach Jimbo Fisher on the witness stand? “Coach Fisher, how many times can a player rape a young woman before he is disciplined from the football team?”
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I don’t think this settlement has any effect of the civil suit that the woman is filing against Jameis, so it will be interesting to see what his legal team’s next move is.
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The whole Winston situation was embarrassing to FSU… if they had any shame.
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The money won’t give her back what he took. I hope FSU does what it’s supposed to do in educate for more than the minimum five years required.
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“Largest settlement” for a Title IX case definitely doesn’t admit anything – will be interesting to see how her civil suit versus Winston proceeds
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A trial would have certainly clarified the issues. Will Winston reimburse FSU? Ha, I won’t hold my breath as a Florida taxpayer.
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She now has some money for a legal team to go after Winston in the civil trial. This could get interesting…..
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Surprised to see everyone so sure there was a rape involved here. None of us will ever know what happened in that room, only those two, but the state’s attorney seemed dead-on right when he said the case had little, to no, chance of getting a guilty verdict. Why put everyone through that when the case was extremely weak? From what was made public, I agree totally. I am no Jameis fan, kid seems more like a child than an adult when you view his actions in all four of the misconduct incidents reported while attending FSU. The one in question here seems the least significant in terms of what is known about his role.
The entire handling of the incident by the FSU and Tallahassee police was sloppy by any definition, but lazy government employees is no major surprise. FSU may have saved some money given the number of lawyers chasing the money, but they are right in saying they would likely have prevailed, imo. Thrasher may be right about being fiscally responsible in this move but it makes it look like they are hiding something….something that wasn’t obvious in the state’s investigation.
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“None of else will ever know” but FSU is “right in saying they would have prevailed”.
Amazing how that works for you, Mac.
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Amazing how you blended two entirely different things together. Remarkable. “None of us will ever know” refers to the events within that room. FSU would have prevailed is they did not sweep a rape under the rug, the state investigated, and the head man said there was not enough evidence. Yeah, that works for me in every way but the government being involved so it could have gotten bizarre. They are agenda people, not so much about the facts. So anything was possible, even if illogical. Now the attorneys always want to keep to keep batting the ball in the air because, you know, ca==ching, ca==ching.
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Out of curiosity, how exactly would a rape be investigated without government involvement?
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Guess I see a difference between law enforcement and investigations and judgments by government agencies who specialize in certain specialized “cause” issues like Title IX. Maybe you don’t, your opinion, but it doesn’t mean others don’t share your viewpoint (or mine.) Spend a little time around some of these myopic crusaders and you may get a whole new definition of “bias levels”, imo. But technically you are right, the police are government employees. It is a broad umbrella using that approach.
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And yet you remain certain FSU – another government entity! – would have prevailed.
The reason they settled isn’t because they were being prudent with money. It’s because they were about to see certain key parties be deposed.
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I don’t have a lot of respect for FSU, or other universities, in how they operate their business. I said I thought they would prevail because I don’t think they swept any thing away from sight during the investigation of this incident…period. Of course I have no doubt they didn’t want to see continued exposure to them as an entity, or some of their employees individually. Who wouldn’t want it to drop out of the media spotlight. Where did you draw that from in my comments? And who doesn’t want to see the meter stop running on a group of lawyers before spending another year’s worth of fees, at least? I never said anything that doesn’t agree with your final two sentences.
Honestly, you should have a deeper conversation before jumping to your wild ass conclusions because you simply don’t know me, and apparently don’t understand my comments at all. Paint the picture as you wish, but your photo of where I stand is so far off it would be under the heading of fiction based on your above comments. Your presumptions also miss areas where we agree.
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Mac, your words: “FSU may have saved some money given the number of lawyers chasing the money, but they are right in saying they would likely have prevailed, imo. Thrasher may be right about being fiscally responsible in this move but it makes it look like they are hiding something…”
If you want people like me to understand the nuance of your argument, perhaps you should do a better job explaining your position in the first place.
As for your belief that FSU didn’t sweep anything away from sight during the investigation, how exactly do you know what the school did? Do you have inside information? Otherwise you’re engaging in the same type of thought process you’re accusing me of. Actually, it’s even more extreme, because there’s plenty of work done by the media to suggest FSU did some sweeping.
I know, I know… what can you expect from an untrustworthy source like the media. It’s as bad as lazy government employees and sleazy lawyers, right?
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One thing we can agree on is drawing conclusions about someone’s position from a short group of words leads to erroneous understanding. And everyone has been guilty of this, more than once. Short position statement by me: I feel both Winston and FSU have been hosed in how they are treated/characterized, but both brought much of it on themselves by the way they have handled things.
And now that you mention it, the media has lost much of the high regard and integrity they once had and have moved closer to the respect level of lazy government workers and sleazy lawyers in how they are regarded by many. None of which is positive for our society.
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Mac slowly and carefully reads Bluto’s response.
Mac clicks all of the links about the blatant cover up.
Mac still refuses to believe it because
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Mac, never pursued a Title IX case, but I believe Derek below sums up the issue this article discusses. Whether or not the rape actually happened is secondary to how the institution handled and escalated her matter internally.
Remember how long it took to bring this to a student conduct hearing, and under what special circumstances it occurred, when otherwise policies would’ve required a student conduct hearing over a year earlier?
Always hard to judge the veracity of a rape claim based on news articles (see also Rolling Stone/UVA), but the institution’s failure to follow its own policies in investigating and reporting on the matter very well may have killed whatever claim the alleged victim may have had from the onset.
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That is true Guv, there is a lot of crossing the line here, including me, between an actual true rape charge and what universities have agreed to in how they run their university. The timing, and depth, of the investigation left them open for some to draw conclusions that there was a cover up with sinister intent. Crime of all sorts is under reported by schools, and have been forever, true at public universities and true at private finishing schools (from all I have ever read in the last fifty years).
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Do be getting soft on me now Dawg-pound.
We may need to pony up a little hush money at some point if ya’ll want you a new NC hat!
Long live the Bama Way in Athenz!
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If Jameis Winston had been just another FSU football player his butt would have been kick to the curb instantly. Nobody will ever know what happened because the T-City police were so in bed with the football program that the school had the case before the prosecutor. The girls lawyers should sue the police and the school but Florida has some crazy sovereign immunity laws. ( See the UCF player who died at practice.) FSU and their fans will continue to protect their own. Some schools are just that way as we all know.
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Whether or not this girl was raped, her and her complaint were handled atrociously by FSU and law enforcement. FSU was looking at getting hammered for how the matter was handled apart and separate from the issue of whether Winston is culpable. Being forced to disclose favorable treatment towards football players in such matters is why the school settled. FSU didn’t have a lot of choice.
As far as the underlying rape allegation, I’ve never found it very credible. As far as those who believe that sexual assault allegations have to be credited as true because “who would lie about such a thing?,” I just have to say that I’ve never found the plot of To Kill a Mockingbird to be all that far-fetched.
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Immediately after the alleged rape (as in hours), she’s reaching out to a friend, who apparently calls Erica’s parents (against Erica’s wishes). Her parents drive up from Tampa, leaving around 4 am from what I can tell. Remember: JW’s just a guy at this point, not a starting QB for FSU. The incident traumatized her enough to set all that in motion. Doesn’t mean someone needs to be in jail, but I’m comfortable that it’s not Richard-Wright-novel territory, either.
Given the range of possibilities and probabilities based on what we know, I have reasonable doubts about JW, FSU, and the Tallahassee PD. Far more so than Erica.
I feel the same way about Ben Roethlisberger. I refuse to watch either of them play football.
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I agree my feelings on Roethlisberger are strong because my youngest daughter was a sorority sister of the girl he attacked in Milledgeville. The way the police acted in that case was reprehensible. There are cases of wrongful accusations but there are many more where a girl does not prosecute because of how the system treats them.
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She also left a bar and got into a taxi with three of these guys and went to their apartment. She now claims that she felt she didn’t have any choice but to get into that taxi. I don’t believe that. Then afterwards she gets on the back of Winston’s moped and rides with him home. I don’t believe I’m getting on the back of my rapist’s moped. I’d just as soon walk, thank you.
My supposition is that she was treated quite poorly by Winston and his roommates. They were very disrespectful and very immature jerks. They are laughing, making jokes, taking photos/videos. Do we really think that they would have acted that way if this girl was screaming bloody murder about being raped? Maybe I’m too optimistic about human nature, but the scene described sounds more like consensual encounter turned ugly then three psychopaths thinking that that can just forcibly rape someone and get away with it and btw “let’s make sure she gets home ok.”
Ever live in an apartment before? Did they have thicker, more sound proof walls then I remember? I think that she was treated like a pig and I’m sure that had more than a negative impact on her self-image as she began to sober up.
If the interaction was as described in her complaint, can you imagine what the forensic report would look like? A forcible rape will look like a forcible rape when you do a forensic exam. That’s why they do them.
Add to that the fact that she no doubt had friends and acquaintances that were at the bar and saw her leave with these THREE guys. Alone. People would be talking…about her. Not in a nice way.
Under these circumstances, if you are this girl, do you want a reputation of a girl who leaves the bar with three football players to do who knows what OR would you rather be a victim? I just think under these circumstances you are naive if you don’t think that this entire situation is ripe for a false allegation. Its a veritable petri dish for a false allegation.
Frankly, I’d give her much more credibility if she said that she went home with them voluntarily, terminated consent because of the way Winston was behaving, and he refused to take no for an answer. That’s at least believable. I’d believe withdrawn consent.
There is the taxi driver. Winston had neighbors. It was very late at night. There were two witnesses to this. There is a video from the bar. There is a forensic exam.
I agree that there was a conspiracy to keep the ALLEGATION quiet and purposefully not take it seriously. But it was a cover up of an ALLEGATION of a rape, not the cover up of an actual rape IMHO. If you think they covered up a rape, knowing or having reason to believe that a rape occurred, there would be a lot of people facing serious criminal problems just like in the Sandusky case. People go to prison for that.
As far as I know, nobody has opened up an obstruction of justice investigation down there.
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I am very close to this line of thinking. You never know when someone said/yelled stop, or if they did. Given the circumstances you described, and that is pretty much what has been released, there would have to be something very strong that has never come out to say a juror would not have just “reasonable doubt”, but “serious doubt”. As big a jerk as Winston has been, he deserves a higher standard of guilt to be convicted. The alleged victim is being given more lenient treatment than he has from what I have seen in comments the past two years.
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Another point, I recall there was DNA from two different men on her clothing from that night. Doesn’t mean she couldn’t have been raped by one of them but it again plays to how a juror would perceive her given the other voluntary circumstances. The video in the bar, the witness accounts, the DNA, the time delay in reporting, the ride home, and no contradicting evidence strongly supports Meggs’ decision to not prosecute. I find myself in the “buyer’s remorse” camp based on what I have read. But if he is guilty, I hope he comes to a tragic end, and soon.
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“The alleged victim is being given more lenient treatment than he has from what I have seen in comments the past two years.”
“Why should you go to jail for a crime someone else noticed?”
http://mmqb.si.com/2015/04/28/kirby-dick-the-hunting-ground-jameis-winston-erica-kinsman
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Where did I say there was clear evidence of the legal standard for rape?
There’s clear evidence in the immediate aftermath thar the incident left her traumatized.
I has a friend on college who trusted the wrong people. 2 on 1. She froze. She accepted a ride from one of them just to get the hell out and end it. I saw her after. She was devastated. So imagine all you want what you would or would not do in that situation. You’ll never have to actually face that.
I’m not a juror. If I was, I doubt I could comvict. But as a guy, I think Jameis’ actions were inexcusable. If a girl cones home with me, she’s not leaving in enough emotional distress that her friends get her parents out of bed at 4 am to drive 4 hours to be there for her.
Go ahead, hit me with the rest of Cornwell’s oppo research. I’ve heard it all already.
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I does not take much alcohol to affect the sobriety of a woman who does not weigh much over 100lbs. Also women have been taught at a certain point fighting back during a rape is counterproductive so lack of injuries is not a sign no rape was committed. What you are citing is why rape is under reported.
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“The woman’s family, and Meggs early on, had repeatedly criticized Tallahassee police for their response to an incident reported in the early morning hours of Dec. 7, 2012. The family has asked why Winston’s DNA wasn’t collected as soon as she identified him as a suspect a month later. Meggs has questioned whether police could have identified Winston sooner and why his office didn’t see the high-profile case until Nov. 13.
But on Thursday, Meggs said criticizing Tallahassee police would serve no purpose and he wouldn’t investigate. He declined to speculate on whether he would have reached the same conclusion if he had been informed of the case 11 months sooner.”
http://www.tampabay.com/sports/college/legal-fate-of-fsu-quarterback-to-be-answered/2155654
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