Florida State University has negotiated a $950,000 settlement with a former student who sued after saying she was raped by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jameis Winston, according to school President James Thrasher in a statement released Monday.
Erica Kinsman has agreed to abandon her Title IX complaint against the institution, according to a statement.
“Although we regret we will never be able to tell our full story in court, it is clear that a trial many months from now would have left FSU fighting over the past rather than looking forward to its very bright future,” Thrasher said, adding that he was confident the trial would have resulted in the same conclusion as two investigations and a student conduct hearing that cleared Winston.
Thrasher stated that the main reason the school settled was to save millions of dollars in legal fees.
“We have an obligation to our students, their parents and Florida taxpayers,” he stated. “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.”
According to Thrasher’s statement, Kinsman will receive $250,000 from the settlement, while her attorneys will receive $700,000. However, Kinsman’s lawyer, John Clune, clarified that the attorneys’ costs will not exceed $700,000. We didn’t need to break down that amount.
Clune referred to the settlement form, which includes the breakdown referenced by Thrasher but also states in the next paragraph that it “does not necessarily reflect the allocation between Kinsman and her counsel.”
Thrasher stated that FSU is committed to ensuring that students do not face sexual harassment or assault, citing several measures taken by the Tallahassee university, including the formation of a sexual assault prevention task force, the hiring of an interpersonal violence expert as its Title IX coordinator, the publication of a victims’ rights handbook, the addition of campus safety positions, and the requirement that incoming freshmen take an online sex and relationships course.
Kinsman, who is set to graduate with a degree in mass communications from another four-year university this spring, said she was glad the school implemented new policies and education efforts, and she hoped that a federal inquiry into her ordeal would result in even more improvements.
“I’ll always be disappointed that I had to leave the school I dreamed of attending since I was little,” she stated. “I am pleased that FSU has committed to make more improvements to ensure a safer environment for all students. My hope is that the federal examination of my complaint by the Office of Civil Rights will result in even more good change, not only at FSU but throughout the country.”
Kinsman filed her case as Jane Doe, claiming that FSU “in concert with Tallahassee Police, took steps to ensure that Winston’s [alleged] rape of plaintiff would not be investigated either by the university or law enforcement.” She also accused the school of neglecting to respond when she became the focus of harassment.
CNN does not usually identify alleged victims of sexual assault; but, Kinsman revealed her name this year in a documentary about rape on college campuses.
Thrasher dismissed the suit as meritless when it was filed in January 2015, claiming that FSU administrators asked her nine times over a 20-month period to produce a statement that would allow for a Title IX investigation.
Title IX requires colleges to examine sexual assault complaints, even if no criminal charges have been filed.Winston, who led the Seminoles to a national title and won the Heisman Trophy as college football’s top player in 2013, was never arrested following criminal investigations by Tallahassee police and a state prosecutor. He was also exonerated during a December 2014 hearing to determine whether he violated the student conduct code.
In October 2014, FSU stated that Winston informed the sports department of the allegation, but the department did not immediately submit a complaint with the school’s Title IX supervisor since no charges were filed and other athletes who were with Winston denied there was an assault.
Student sues University of Oregon over alleged group rape.
The dispute began in December 2012, when Winston was a top Florida State recruit but had yet to play for the team.
According to police reports, Kinsman was drinking with companions at a Tallahassee club when an unknown man shot her. According to police accounts, the two exited the pub, and Kinsman only remembered being in a ground-floor apartment, when the unknown man stripped off her clothes and participated in intercourse with her despite her objections.
A month later, Kinsman identified Winston in one of her classes and accused him of rape. According to the woman’s relatives, a detective warned her attorney that Tallahassee is a “big football town” and that pursuing the case may make her life unpleasant, but Tom Coe, Tallahassee’s interim police chief at the time, said Kinsman informed detectives she didn’t want to pursue it.
Winston has often stated that the sex was consensual.Winston, who now plays quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was not named as a defendant in FSU’s Title IX action, but Kinsman filed a second lawsuit against him in April, alleging sexual battery, false detention, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
“In terms of timing, we didn’t want to wait until the day before the draft or after he signed a contract,” Kinsman’s attorney, Clune, said at the time. “As soon as we finished the various motions briefing on the FSU case, we turned our attention to Jameis and got it filed.”
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Winston’s attorney, David Cornwell, described the case as a hoax, claiming that “Ms. Kinsman’s false accusations have already been exposed and rejected six times.” This time will not be different. Mr. Winston appreciates the opportunity to clear his name with the truth.”
A month after Kinsman sued him, Winston filed a countersuit, claiming Kinsman had consensual sexual relations with him, lied about it, and publicly harmed his reputation. He further said that Kinsman sought $7 million, promising that if he paid, he would never hear from Ms. Kinsman again.
“Ms. Kinsman is motivated by the most insidious of objectives – greed,” the complaint stated.
Clune defended his client, stating, “Refusing to answer questions and smearing people in the media will not fly here.” I’m not sure how well it will work out for him in this scenario.