The Maddening Familiarity of the Jameis Winston Case —Football and Rape
It will be interesting if other allegations are made against him in the years to come.
Meggs took over the investigation in November — almost a year after the report was filed with the Tallahassee Police Department, several months after the police allowed the case to go “dormant,” and days after media outlets began pressing the department for the case file amidst allegations of police misconduct.
There will be no charges, but the matter feels far from settled. The circumstances are just too frustrating, and too familiar. Winston, as you have no doubt read in the coverage of this case, is a well-known football player. Media outlets reminded the public of this fact by identifying him in pieces on the rape accusations, in headlines and leads, as a “football star,” “Heisman favorite,” or “freshman who has lead FSU to an undefeated season.”
The media’s fascination with Winston’s career prospects was allegedly shared by the Tallahassee Police Department. Patricia Carroll, the lawyer for the woman who accused Winston of rape, said she was told by a detective that her client’s life would be “made miserable” if she went ahead with the investigation. “Tallahassee was a big football town,” he allegedly said. “The victim needs to think long and hard before proceeding against him because she will be raked over the coals and her life will be made miserable.”