FSU does not care

It took me some time to come up with the (somewhat simple) title for this post. I tried to distill what was so furiously frustrating about the fact the Florida State University has hired Kendal Briles as the football team's offensive coordinator.

First, Kendal Briles was an assistant coach at Baylor during the time of the sexual assault crisis/scandal/epidemic. It was his father, Art Briles, who has been held most responsible (at least within the program) for the cover ups and culture; but son, Kendal, also had a role as one of the team's primary recruiters. One story that has emerged from the collection of evidence that has been part of the many, many lawsuits Baylor is still faced with, involves K Briles asking a recruit if he likes white women and noting their widespread availability at BU and their desire for football players.

This is culture shaping. In a very racist and misogynist and violent moment, Briles tells this prospective player that he can access whomever he likes at Baylor. He is offering up the female undergraduates of Baylor to players. This makes me recall women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey's ill-advised and barely apologized for comments to the crowd about how it is safe to send their daughters to Baylor. I don't know if Baylor is any less safe than other campuses. I do not know how to measure this--and I don't especially care about comparisons at this moment. Briles was part of making that campus more dangerous.

Now he has a job at another school which has denied culpability in the culture of sexual violence. And so...two, Florida Sate University thinks it has moved past the Winston era. They have a new head coach (completely unrelated to the way the program and school protected the former Heisman-winning quarterback who continues to make news for engaging in harassment and assault). Admittedly, they probably have moved past that; perhaps they were never really mired in it at all. The media supported the school and the program (watch the segment in the Hunting Ground about Winston and listen to ESPN's Stephen A. Smith sarcastically mock then-anonymous victim Erica Kinsman's motives and unconditionally support, along with colleague Skip Bayless, Winston). It was, after all, only one victim (not true it turns out), and one perpetrator--who left to go pro thus making him the NFL's problem. And (deep cynicism alert), everyone knows how the NFL deals with domestic and sexual assault and violence.

It does not matter to the administration, to the fans, to the program, that FSU has hired a coach who helped perpetuate the climate of sexual violence at his former institution. And that is a problem--a dangerous one. Unchecked football cultures--like the ones that exist at Baylor and FSU--make campuses unsafe places.

An end to the Winston saga

In a rather unsurprising move, a settlement has been announced in the case of former Florida State University students Erica Kinsman and Jameis Winston. Kinsman's lawsuit against the former FSU quarterback and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB (and Winston's countersuit) has been resolved via an undisclosed settlement. The trial, a goal of which was to hold Winston accountable for raping Kinsman four years ago, was scheduled for April 2017.

No one else held Winston accountable. Local and university police did not investigate properly and the lack of police evidence and interference in the investigative process meant the state attorney general could not effectively prosecute him. FSU also failed to investigate; held a ridiculous student conduct hearing overseen by a former federal judge who had no idea how to run such a hearing; and then found that there was not evidence (over a year later--in violation of Title IX's 6-month time frame) to suggest the sex was not consensual.

As an outsider who closely followed this case, the incompetence, the denial, the misogyny, and overall disregard for student welfare was immensely frustrating. There is little to suggest that FSU has realized the error of its ways or that the culture of Jimbo Fisher's team has changed.

I am not suggesting that the settlement was unwise or that I believe a trial would have produced some desired result. I do think that Winston benefited immensely from the settlement in terms of PR. He has been scandal-free since joining the NFL and Bucs fans seem to love him. A trial that brings up his past might remind (or inform) some people of what he got away with. He learned well from his alma mater that image is everything and paying to make image problems go away is worth it.

As a reminder, Kinsman tells her story in the documentary The Hunting Ground.

Florida accuser tries new tactic

The student conduct hearing process for Title IX cases at colleges and universities can be, among other things: fraught, painful, confusing, offensive, ineffective, and biased.

At the University of Florida, one student accuser is attempting to address the latter: bias. She  refused to take part in the conduct hearing for two football players she has accused of sexual assault and attempted sexual assault her because the man adjudicating the case is a football booster.

The woman did not report the assault to university or local police, instead choosing to use the student judicial process. Florida appoints adjudicators for Title IX cases. John Clune, the Colorado-based attorney who has handled many Title IX sexual assault cases (he is Erica Kinsman's lawyer), is representing the woman. He made the statement on behalf of his client: "the fact that UF has hired a football booster to adjudicate a sexual assault charge against one of the team’s own football players is a fundamentally skewed process in which [the complainant] refuses to participate."

Bias in the processes of both the school's judicial process and the legal system is rampant in Title IX cases. We saw it in Kinsman's case and it was a major theme in Jon Krakauer's book about sexual assault at the University of Montana. 

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/college/sec/university-of-florida/article94006377.html#storylink=cpy

The players were suspended from the team for violating the student code of conduct. They were barred from campus but remained enrolled and took online classes. One player is planning to transfer (apparently as part of a deal, which included an apology), the other is remaining at the school and fighting the accusations and, as of last week, was practicing with the team (though he has not been officially reinstated).

It is unclear what will come of the boycott, but the action itself is important. It is an opportunity to really examine and potentially challenge the ways in which schools are adjudicating Title IX cases. It may also be an opportunity to assess the role and training of outside adjudicators. While the adjudicator in Kinsman's case against Jameis Winston, a former Supreme Court judge in Florida, was deemed acceptable by both sides, it was clear from the transcripts that he did know the student judicial process. A UF spokesperson said adjudicators are well-trained but apparently not vetted for bias the belief being that the training will somehow eliminate bias.

Schools need to do better. This is not news. But it seems as if schools that want to demonstrate attempts to change the climate of the campus should at least start at the judicial hearing process.

More trouble at FSU

A "glitch" in the Florida State University student records system, controlled by a third party software company, has resulted in the release of 1600 emails detailing student conduct cases. Some of those are sexual harassment and assault cases which has raised concerns about whether those who complained are now in danger because an accused person could either find who his accuser was and/or the extent and details of an accusation.

The university has apologized but not taken steps beyond that to reassure those who have filed reports in the past that they are safe, according to some of those who have been affected.

If I was a conspiracy theorist, I would question this "glitch" in light of FSU's less-than-stellar record with Title IX issues. Why? Because if students are worried that their reports might not be secure--which clearly they are not--then they will not come forward to report harassment and assault. Lack of reporting is already a problem nationwide. This glitch has institutionalized it at FSU. Fewer reports means that the university does not have to deal with them and they do not have to report them to the federal government, which would make FSU look safer than it actually is. Even though the University took no responsibility for the Jameis Winston situation as they settled the lawsuit brought by Erica Kinsman, evidence about the number of unreported and uninvestigated sexual assaults occurring at FSU certainly raised concerns among potential students and parents who might send their children there.

But I am not conspiracy theorist. And I do not think that FSU administrators are happy about dealing with this situation. [Apparently the Title IX coordinator has been "up all night" addressing the information leak.]

Additionally, FSU is still under investigation by OCR. This situation is not going to help present a picture of an institution that has its Title IX house in order.

So it seems that this is just a really awful situation--for victims. Many of us have been waiting a long time for something to happen to FSU that will make it wake up and take notice of what is happening on that campus. But no one wants that moment to come at the expense of students.

Settlement in FSU case

Breaking news: FSU will pay Erica Kinsman just under $1million to settle the lawsuit she brought against her former institution in the wake of their mishandling of her rape allegations against former quarterback Jameis Winston.

FSU had dug its heels in deep in the case, making repeated remarks to the media about how they had done everything according to the book, despite glaring evidence to the contrary. So I am somewhat surprised by the settlement--and somewhat not so surprised. A trial would have drawn more attention and potentially turned public opinion against the university which still remains very popular in the eyes of fans and alumni. I believe the evidence that would have been brought out at trial would have made them look horrible. Their initial lack of response to Kinsman and the more-than-a-year-late conduct board hearing which was handled so poorly could not have been overlooked.

In the settlement FSU admits no wrongdoing, though most of us know that $950,000 is a pretty hefty sum for an innocent entity. But this way those who vilified Kinsman, (the harassment she experienced was one of the reasons she withdrew from her dream school) can continue to say that nothing was ever proven and that the university simply had to pay her off or incur even more costs to defend themselves. This narrative is somewhat frustrating. Though there are further legal actions pending against Winston.

FSU is still maintaining that they would have won in a trial. This statement from President John Thrasher is particularly infuriating:
Although we regret we will never be able to tell our full story in court, it is apparent that a trial many months from now would have left FSU fighting over the past rather than looking toward its very bright future. We have decided to instead move forward even though we have full faith that the ultimate outcome of a trial would have been consistent with the previous law enforcement investigations and retired Supreme Court Justice Major Harding’s findings in the student conduct hearing.

I am not going to go back to rehash the student conduct hearing. I will just remind readers that it was somewhat of a comedy of errors--but not funny in the least. Whatever Harding's credentials as a judge, his expertise did not extend to overseeing and judging a student conduct hearing.

FSU was correct about the costs of litigation. Only $250,000 of the settlement is going to Kinsman. The rest covers her legal costs.
CORRECTION: New sources have emerged since this story broke, and I posted that this was breakdown of the settlement. The statement was from FSU. But the division of the settlement is to be determined between Kinsman and her legal team, who say that the $700,000 is what FSU determined legal costs to be but is not reality.


What else has this cost FSU? As part of the settlement,  FSU has committed to five years of of sexual assault awareness, prevention and training programs. Curious. Not sure what will happen after five years. These things are basically required anyway. There will be annual reports discussing these programs in an effort in "increase transparency." The latter has been an issue. One astounding fact that would have been brought up at trial is the statement from the former director of the Victim Advocate Office claiming that of the 113 reports of sexual battery to their office in 2014, the university reported only 9 to the federal government (Clery Act violation). This may be an issue, though, when OCR does its investigation. The university still has to contend with that.

Round-up: Aftermath of the Hunting Ground airing

Amid criticisms of the film and the television station, with threats of lawsuits, CNN aired The Hunting Ground the weekend before American Thanksgiving. Here is what happened afterwards:

A report came out from the American Association of University Women that 91% of colleges and universities reported no sexual assaults in 2014. I find that number both incredulous and sadly not at all surprising. Earlier this year another study's results were released showing that one out of four college women surveyed reported being assaulted. So even with problematic studies, even with underreporting, there is no way that nine out of ten schools received no reports of sexual assault in 2014. There is missing data, as the Washington Post reports, because some schools missed the October 1 deadline to report their numbers about crimes on campus and there might be a delay in data entry at the Department of Education. Regardless, reports of zero sexual assaults should not fool anyone. It is more likely an indication that a school does not have the correct policies, procedures and training in place. As the article notes:
"a school that reports no or few sexual assaults isn’t necessarily a safe haven for students. In fact, a higher number of reported assaults can mean the assault investigation system is operating effectively."

 This seems to be playing out at Brown University, which recently revised its sexual assault policies. The number of reported assaults has increased. According to administrators, the new process--spurred by a complaint about the handling of a student's accusations and the punishment levied against the assailant and an OCR investigation--has made it easier for victims to report and move through the hearing process.

Down in Tallahassee, Florida Florida State administrators, lead by President John Thrasher, continue to defend themselves against allegations of mishandling sexual assault complaints and are working very hard to keep their secrets secret--with limited success. Days after Thrasher chastised The Hunting Ground, the university was forced to release transcripts (by a judge and requested by NYT) of depositions in Erica Kinsman's lawsuit. The former head of the victim advocacy program provided some numbers. The "good" news is that FSU did--unlike 90% of American colleges and universities--report sexual assault in 2014; nine incidents, according to Melissa Ashton who was in charge of the program at the time. But she also said that 113 incidents were reported to her office. Ashton was in her position for nine years and, according to her testimony, there were 40 football players reported for sexual assault or intimate partner violence. Only one of those 40 were found responsible she said noting that many women would not pursue cases against football players because they were afraid of the repercussions. Part of FSU's response was a basic shrugging of the shoulders, noting that there was nothing the university could do if the victim would not report outside of the victim advocacy program. There was nothing about trying to change the culture of fear and intimidation.  

The other deposition some were interested in was that of head football coach Jimbo Fisher. He reported that he was not aware of FSU's sexual assault policies and thought that Title IX was about equality in men's and women's sports. The line of questioning was trying to determine what Fisher, and his superiors, knew about the accusations against Winston, when, and what they did about them. Ashton noted that whether there was even a staff member at FSU who dealt with Title IX issues during that time is in doubt. This does not excuse FSU or Fisher and his superiors from reporting the allegations, in part because not having a Title IX coordinator is a Title IX violation.

This case is not scheduled for trial until September 2016. That provided Thrasher with an abundance of time to keep praising and defending FSU.

PS: I looked for news about Winston was planning in the wake of CNN's airing of the documentary. No word on the lawsuit he was threatening.

FSU doth protest too much

Tonight CNN will air The Hunting Ground much to the dismay of current and former folks connected to FSU. Dismay that includes the threat of legal action.

Former quarterback Jameis Winston has, through his lawyer, threatened to sue for libel. Winston is still embroiled in legal action. Erica Kinsman, who is part of the documentary about campus sexual assault, has accused Winston of rape and is suing him. Despite Kinsman reporting her rape immediately (she did not know her attacker was Winston when it happened), FSU dragged its heels investigating even when she told administrators months later who it was when she recognized him on the first day of spring classes and was able to put a name to the face.

Due to the significant bumbling of the case and the leaking of information, criminal charges were never filed. An equally problematic student judicial hearing found Winston not responsible. An investigation into FSU's handling of sexual assault is ongoing.

Kinsman talks about her experience as do the other women featured in the documentary. After being run out of FSU because of the backlash against her from football fans, it was Kinsman's first public experience. As I said above, she has since filed civil charges against Winston who is countersuing her.

FSU's president John Thrasher has come out and said CNN is being irresponsible by airing the documentary. He is comparing the documentary to the now discredited story in Rolling Stone about a rape at University of Virginia saying it does not live up to journalistic standards. The comparison is bordering on hyperbolic. These women all came forward to talk on film about their experiences at schools all over the country. The documentary highlights the cultures at colleges that have resulted in the epidemic that is campus sexual assault. And it reports, using these women's stories, on how their institutions did not address what happened to them. The film also includes interviews with employees in student life and campus police. Filmmakers contend they make space for administrators from FSU to comment on film, but Thrasher denies that assertion. 

Thrasher is bandwagoning with professors at Harvard Law who also are contesting the presentation of the story of a former law student who was assaulted and saying the documentary contains inaccuracies and inconsistencies. I was not a fact checker for the film, so I cannot speak to those accusations. But I am pretty surprised that administrators and professors from schools that have ongoing and very public problems with race and gender are throwing stones at this film rather than addressing the many issues on their respective campuses. Right now it looks like they are too preoccupied with a PR campaign.

Also, this movie is--relatively speaking--old. It debuted at Sundance last year and was released in theatres shortly thereafter. I saw it in April at my local theatre. Where was the outcry then? CNN is getting heat for airing the movie but I did not see much protest when it came out last spring. (There was some protest at FSU among the devout fan base and calls that Kinsman is a liar.)

There are, last I saw, 177 open investigations at the Office of Civil Rights that will examine the practices and policies surrounding campus sexual assault at just under 150 colleges and universities (some schools have multiple complaints pending). That fact is not in dispute. It is not an exaggeration to call this problem an epidemic. All those open cases as well as the ones that have been closed, have stories attached to them. We have heard of some of the more visible ones--the stories of protest, of mattress-carrying, of activism--there are so many more. More than this documentary can hold--more than any documentary can hold.

Campus Sexual Harassment, Sexual Assault Litigation Roundup

In two recent judicial decisions, courts refused to grant university's motions to dismiss Title IX cases in which the plaintiff alleged that the university did not adequately respond to his or her report of sexual harassment or assault.

• In the first case, a federal court in Illinois allowed a male medical student to continue to litigate his case against Northwestern University, in which he alleges that the university did not adequately respond to his report of sexual harassment by a male professor.  The professor, the plaintiff alleges, made suggestive comments and retaliated against the plaintiff in various ways for refusing his sexual advances. The court agreed that the allegations in the plaintiff's complaint satisfy the legal standard for liability under Title IX, and thus cannot be dismissed without continued litigation.  The plaintiff alleges a sexist double standard in Northwestern's policy of not investigating reports of incidents that were two years old, the time frame that lapsed between the professor's misconduct and the plaintiff's report to the university's sexual harassment office. Because the plaintiff's complaint included an example of a female complainant's case that was investigated even though the harassment was similarly out of date,  it could, if proven, subject Northwestern to liability under Title IX. The court also denied the university's motion to dismiss the plaintiff's retaliation claim, in which he alleged that the university continued to take adverse action against him after and because of his reporting of the professor's harassment.  Yap v. Northwestern Univ., 2015 WL 4692492 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 6, 2015).

• Similarly, a federal court in Florida denied Florida State's motion to dismiss the Title IX case filed by  Erica Kinsman, who alleges that the university did not adequately respond to knowledge of her report that quarterback Jameis Winston raped her in 2012.  Though FSU disputes the allegations in the complaint, the judge ruled that it is possible that a jury could find truth in Kinsman's claims that appropriate university officials had actual notice of Kinsman's report by January of 2013, and that they did not initiate an investigation for eleven months, which would satisfy the standard of institutional liability under Title IX.  The judge set a trial date for July of 2016, though it is possible of course that the case could settle before then, or that FSU could file and prevail on a motion for summary judgment after the discovery phase which allows the parties to gather evidence. 

Also, there were developments in three disciplined-student cases worth noting.

• A federal court in Virginia denied Washington and Lee University's motion to dismiss a male student's claim that the university violated Title IX when it expelled him for sexual assault.  The court agreed that the plaintiff's complaint contained sufficient allegations that would, if proven, constitute a violation of Title IX under the "erroneous outcome" framework.  At this early stage of litigation, a plaintiff in an erroneous outcome case must (1) cast doubt on the accuracy of the university's finding against him; and (2) allege specific facts that can establish gender bias as a motive. Here, the plaintiff alleged numerous procedural violations that resulted in evidence favorable to him being excluded from the disciplinary panel's consideration. He also alleged that gender bias could be attributed to the Title IX officer who presented the case against him, as evidenced by her public endorsement of the idea that "sexual assault occurs whenever a woman has consensual sex with a man and regrets it because she had internal reservations that she did not outwardly express."  Because the plaintiff's case "parallels of the situation it describes and the circumstances under which Plaintiff was found responsible for sexual misconduct" and because the Title IX officer wielded "considerable influence" in the proceedings, it is possible, the judge reasoned, for a jury to find evidence of gender bias.  This is a rare outcome in that disciplined-students' Title IX claims do not usually survive the university's motion to dismiss -- usually because of insufficient allegations of gender bias. Doe v. Washington and Lee Univ., 2015 WL 4647996 (W.D. Va. Aug. 5, 2015).

• And, a state court judge in Tennessee reversed a decision by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to expel a male student and wrestler Corey Mock for sexual assault.  In that case, a female student reported to the university that Mock had had sex with her while she was unconscious.  A disciplinary panel initially determined that there was not enough evidence to find Mock responsible, but this decision was overturned on an appeal within the university.  The court took issue with the university's ultimate decision, which it interpreted as requiring Mock to prove he had obtained consent rather than requiring the complainant to prove he hadn't. Though the court's decision was based on state administrative law, not Title IX, the outcome is consistent with what is required of universities under Title IX.  Even though a complainant does not have to have overwhelming evidence (only a preponderance) that consent did not occur, it is still the complainant's burden to prove that consent did not occur.  

• A superior court judge in Los Angeles reinstated plaintiff Bryce Dixon to the University of Southern California while his case against the university is pending.  Dixon, a football player, is challenging the university's decision to expel him for sexual assault stemming from a sexual encounter with a female trainer that he claims was preceded by implied consent, though a university disciplinary panel found otherwise.

FSU: Treating symptoms not changing cultures

They say that the first step to solving a problem is admitting you have a problem. So how does Florida State go about solving violent behavior among its student athletes? The football players are now banned from bars. The bars have not banned them--the coach has.

Jimbo Fisher, reports say, has told his players no more bars.

This is neither admitting to a problem nor solving one.

The directive was issued after a second FSU player was punished for assaulting a woman. Dalvin Cook was suspended from the team after he hit a woman outside of a bar. The first (?) incident resulted in quarterback De'Andre Johnson being kicked off the team after he hit a woman in a bar.

Bars are not the problem here. The problem is the culture at FSU and the precedent that has been set by the mishandling and outright denial of problems within athletics. I would suggest that the bar ban is simply treating the symptoms, but I don't even think bars are the symptom. As others have already noted, plenty of people go to bars--athletes, non-athletes, students, and others--without ever hitting women or anyone.

Counselors are also coming in, according to a statement by Fisher. This appears to be a treating of the symptoms, though arguably I do not know what the counselors will address or their methods and if there will some digging into the roots of these issues. Because as Fisher himself as already noted, student-athletes go to a lot of sessions about things like assault and drinking. Some of my male student-athletes (not at FSU) have reported being in workshops where they are taught how to interact with women. So is FSU not doing these things? Are they not doing them well enough? Or are they sending contradictory messages? Don't do this! (but if you do we may be able to get you off by ignoring the problem, keeping it out of the press, withholding evidence, questioning the reputation of your accuser in such a way that leads to her harassment, and assorted other methods.)

I think the counselors should be brought in for the staff, too.

Another matter: what will happen to De'Andre Johnson? Will he transfer--and when? (is he even still enrolled at the school?) Under the new SEC rule preventing transfers of student-athletes who have been punished for violence against women, he will not be headed to cross-state rival University of Florida or perennial powerhouses such as Alabama and Auburn. Johnson said he was provoked by the woman, alleging that she shouted racial epithets at him, but regrets his actions. This might be the opening to another spot at a non-SEC school. The second chance discourse. He had many offers from top football schools. Will one of them come back for him?

Will Cook be kicked off the team? He was a more highly touted recruit than Johnson. What is going to happen to this indefinite suspension? Do we have to wait for video evidence like the kind that caught Johnson hitting his victim? Not kicking him off the team for doing what appears to be the same thing might send a mixed message. Apparently President Thrasher addressed the football team and told them that playing for FSU is not a right but a privilege. Will some players receive more privileges than others?

Considering the new SEC policy

The SEC announced a new policy this week that would prevent student-athletes with records of domestic violence and sexual assault from transferring to SEC schools (as athletes). It was a proposal made by Georgia and adopted fairly readily according to reports. Whether one particular incident (like Alabama's acceptance of a football player who was under investigation at Georgia for domestic violence at time of transfer and has allegedly re-offended) or just greater awareness of the issue of sexual assault and domestic violence inspired the new policy has not been made clear.

The exact wording of the policy is as follows: "a transfer student-athlete who has been subject to official university of athletics department disciplinary action at any time during enrollment at any previous collegiate institution (excluding limited discipline applied by a sports team or temporary disciplinary action during an investigation) due to serious misconduct (as defined herein) shall not be eligible for athletically-related financial aid, practice or competition at an SEC member institution."

In my recent research/writing/thinking, I have been looking at why athletics departments have not been affected by the increasing visibility of activism aimed at addressing campus sexual assault. In other words why have they, arguably, been relatively unscathed for not following correct policies and procedures when they learn that student athletes have been accused of sexual violence. Most colleges and universities accused of mishandling sexual assault reports do not truly fear the ultimate--and only--penalty the Office of Civil Rights can levy--loss of federal funds--because it has never happened. There are potential large financial penalties if students file lawsuits rather than or in addition to a complaint with OCR, as happened at University of Connecticut.

The biggest hit at the moment, however, is the one schools take to their reputation. As campus sexual assault becomes more visible because of activism, media coverage, survivor narratives, and investigations schools are receiving considerable negative attention. And schools do not want this.

The desire for reversing negative publicity does not seem to apply at the moment to athletics departments. They seem to be weathering the storm fairly well. Look at Florida State. Look at Colorado, who paid out a multi-million dollar settlement in the mid-00s. Look at Oregon currently under investigation and facing a lawsuit. Have their athletics departments suffered? Have people called for boycotts of games or stopped buying merchandise? No. Have schools reprimanded their athletics departments by imposing internal sanctions or firing administrators who fail to policy and procedure in these matters? Not that I have seen.

Actually, let's go back to Oregon. It provides an example of how the SEC policy, while a good one, would not work in this case because of a culture of secrecy and protection of student athletes. Oregon took as a transfer a player from Providence College who was kicked off that basketball team for alleged participation in a gang rape. But he was not formally punished or investigated by the college. There was nothing on his transcript. Oregon officials maintain that they did not know of his past. He was then kicked off the basketball team, along with two other players, after a student accused them of rape. Said player, Brandon Austin, has transferred to a junior college in Florida. They are aware of the accusations against him.

So the SEC policy, if it existed at this junior college or the conference to which it belongs, would have prevented Austin from transferring there for the purpose of playing basketball. But it would not have prevented the original transfer from Providence to Oregon.

In other words, this policy does not get at the whole problem. It is based on the premise that schools and their athletics departments are doing their jobs in reporting and investigating sexual assault and violence in the correct way. This is not universally true. We cannot know statistics, unfortunately, on this matter. Most of the evidence is anecdotal and we have to assume that the lawsuits that have emerged are a small percentage of actual mishandling based on what we know about underreporting and the harassment and dismissal of those who do initially report.

The SEC's policy does not mean there will be no more offenders accepted as student athletes at SEC schools. Look again at the exception in parentheses: "excluding limited discipline applied by a sports team." This is the type of discipline being doled out to accused student-athletes in an attempt to appease victims. It is a violation of Title IX if the act in question is sexual assault or harassment. It cannot be handled internally. This policy is a start at addressing this issue, but we need more done at the front end of this problem, including stronger punishments against offending athletics departments.

What Winston's drafting means

Florida State University quarterback Jameis Winston was the first pick in this year's NFL draft held last week. He won't have to go very far; as expected the Tampa Bay Buccaneers got him (they had the first pick).

I have seen a few commentaries on Winston's "off-field" troubles, though generally felt that the mainstream sport media talked around what they were calling "character issues" in the weeks leading up to last night's announcement. What utterly shocked me was a regional sports show in which the commentator noted that some of Winston's teammates, including roommate Ronald Darby, who also declared for the draft this year, might cause some teams to pause because of their off-field issues. There were no specifics provided (admittedly I did not linger on the channel so perhaps I missed them.) But I do know that Darby was in the cab with Erica Kinsman, Winston, and their third roommate. He was in the apartment while Winston assaulted her. According to Kinsman's accounts of the night one of the two roommates came into the bedroom and told Winston that he should stop. Darby was called into front of the school judicial board long before Winston. He was cleared of wrongdoing while roommate Chris Casher, was punished for taking video of the encounter. (It was deleted.) Darby may have other incidents in addition to being associated with this night (though it seems people care little about it); the point is that the commentator mentioned off-field actions as a potential deterrent to his selections by certain teams.

Despite the troubles Winston has gotten into during his brief time at FSU, however, and the pending civil lawsuit against him by Kinsman, his draft stock never fell. Let us recall a year ago when Michael Sam's draft stock plummeted after he announced he was gay. (See Cyd Zeigler's take on this one year later.)  Because in the NFL hierarchy being gay is a bigger distraction than being sued for assault.

Let's also recall Notre Dame alum, Manti Te'o who was drafted two years ago. He was picked in the second round but his stock fell too after a never-quite-explained story emerged about a dead girlfriend whom he had never met and, it turns out, never existed. This situation was described as a "character issue" and one that teams might have some issues with. Some of us thought teams were reading it as Te'o trying to cover his homosexuality. This has never been confirmed, but it certainly was a rumor and rumors abound at draft time and they affect how teams feel about these "off-field issues."

So non-normative sexuality related off-field issues = falling stock. Heterosexual sexual assault (and evidence of other misogynistic practices) = first round pick. The organizational memory of the NFL seems to be very short. I fear that Winston will remind them very soon of the need to more deeply address the culture of misogyny and homophobia in the organization.

And a final note on that deleted picture of Winston celebrating his first round pick (at home allegedly so he could be with his family) with a plate of crab legs. I know the context; the crabs were a gift from Deadliest Catch star Keith Colburn. Fine, eat and enjoy the crabs. Don't post a picture to social media with them though. And don't be surprised when there is negative reaction by both your new employer (the Bucs deny pressuring Winston to remove the photo, however) and the public. The crabs are a symbol: of ignorance, entitlement, and arrogance. Those all seem like pretty big character issues to me. 

FSU responds to lawsuit

Florida State President John Thrasher responded to the news that the university was facing a Title IX lawsuit as a result of its handling of the sexual assault allegations against Jameis Winston (who has announced--as expected, though apparently the party line is that he only decided earlier this week--that he will enter the NFL draft this year). So a bad news/good news week for Thrasher, though I am sure which adjective goes with which announcement might be different in public versus behind closed doors.

I would suspect everyone involved with the entity that is Jameis Winston is probably a little relieved not to have to work so hard to keep him out of trouble and eligible for the next two years. Public statements are expressing sadness though.

Thrasher's public statements regarding the lawsuit suggest he is not worried--just disappointed:
Florida State University is disappointed to learn of this lawsuit. The university has not yet been served and will need time to review the complaint fully before we respond in detail."

That is when he should have stopped speaking about this issue. But he went on to say that the university did everything the victim asked for and that she was not cooperative regarding the investigation into the events of that night in December 2012.

His version of the handling of the allegations stands in stark contrast to the outline of events in the complaint filed Wednesday. He also said that he looked forward to clearing FSU's name regarding "selective news leaks and distorted coverage." He's probably not in a great position to talk about leaks given that the accused received police reports from a university employee before that information arrived at the DA's office. Also, the timeline of events that has been reported in the news and by the accused is one that FSU has confirmed.

Thrasher is also touting the university's Victim Advocate Program and implying that they work they did for the victim somehow absolves the university of its duty to investigate the allegations in a timely manner. The VAP did indeed seem to do an excellent job in this case, but it is not a mandatory reporter. The investigation should have happened regardless of whether the victim used VAP's services or not and it should have been triggered by the reporting of the crime to the university police on the night of the incident. It should have been done whether the victim was going to pursue a disciplinary hearing or not.

Thrasher is claiming that she stymied the investigation because of refusal to be interviewed. This directly contradicts the facts presented in the filing. Again, he probably should have waited to review the complaint. There are emails chronicling these requests and events! 

I am not sure how to read Thrasher's response. Hubris? Ignorance? Privilege? It seems to be an ill-advised (is anyone advising him?) response given the evidence against the school and the situation it finds itself in.

Winston's victim files Title IX lawsuit against FSU

The woman who accused Florida State football player Jameis Winston of sexual assault has filed a lawsuit against the school for Title IX violations. This is not surprising news, and we would not be surprised to see additional legal action against various entities.

But dealing with the complaint at hand: this lawsuit does not (directly) involve Winston but rather how the school dealt with the reported allegations against him. The plaintiff is claiming deliberate indifference (i.e., the university knew of the situation and took no action) and a hostile educational environment.

FSU is already under investigation by OCR and those findings have yet to be issued. The goals of the lawsuit and OCR's investigation are not identical. OCR is not necessarily looking to nor needs to prove that the university acted with deliberate indifference. They will look at FSU's policies and procedures for their suitability and to see if the university acted in accordance with Title IX in investigating claims of sexual assault and harassment. They are not limited to looking only at the case involving Winston. It is possible that OCR's report could be helpful to the plaintiff's lawsuit, but I know of no timeline for the OCR investigation.

So the issue now is whether the plaintiff can prove both of her counts.  Deliberate indifference could be the more difficult if the court perceives that the school did something to address the issue. And FSU did do something--eventually. There was an investigation--albeit quite late--certianly outside the 6-month window in which an investigation is supposed to occur after someone at the university is notified. (FSU police knew the night of the incident in December 2012.) This shifts the consideration to "when" and "how" should be factored into a finding of deliberate indifference. The entanglements between members of the athletics department (one of whom gave Winston's lawyers the police reports about the assault before they even arrived at the prosecutor's office) and the Tallahassee Police could work in the plaintiff's favor. There was clearly a delay in the investigation for reasons that appear to be because Winston is a star athlete. Will this be read as deliberate indifference?

Also, the actions of university officials suggest attempts to suppress the victim's claims against Winston. (These actions contributed to the delay as well.) From the filing: 
Despite being on notice that two women had reported being raped by Winston, on November 12, 2013, FSU Dean of Students Jeanine Ward-Roof (“Ward-Roof”), who supervised Code of Conduct proceedings at FSU, emailed Chief Perry [FSU chief of police] and others at FSU stating that no disciplinary proceedings against Winston were going to take place.

This initial decision suggests the desire to suppress any information about the assault and lead to delay even further the Title IX-mandated investigation. To me, this reads "we know; we're not doing anything about it."

The delay and suppression hypothesis is reaffirmed by the following, also from yesterday's filing:
Despite FSU Police being on notice within an hour of the rape on December 7, 2012 and the FSU Athletics Department’s awareness of the rape in January 2013, the incident was never reported by either of those departments to FSU’s Title IX Coordinator.

There is an entire section of the complaint that details how FSU athletics department personnel in concert with the Tallahassee Police, worked to conceal the allegations and prevent an investigation. This section implicates football coach "Jimbo" Fisher in the cover-up, as well as other administrators and FSU's chief of police as noted in this passage:
Chief Perry also told Jeanine Ward-Roof, the FSU Dean of Students who supervised the Title IX Coordinator, the SRR Office and the Victim Advocate Program, what was going on. Ward-Roof informed Chief Perry in an email at 1:16 p.m. on November 12, 2013 about the second student accusing Winston of sexual assault and assured Chief Perry that an SRR Code of Conduct proceeding against Winston for raping Plaintiff would not move forward.
Thus, as of November 12, 2013, the FSU Administration had shut down any
investigation into either of the reports of sexual assault against Winston.

The above is just about the count of deliberate indifference. The second count is about the hostile educational environment created by FSU's indifference and non-compliance with its own policies and the law. The plaintiff was forced to leave school because of the trauma she suffered not just at the time of the rape but in the wake of revelations about her identity.
For Plaintiff, FSU became a sexually hostile environment where her rapist roamed free and could turn up at any moment, where she became the target of death threats and vilification campaigns, and where her rapist could act with such impunity that he posted a video of himself boasting of rape and stood shouting obscene sexual acts.FSU was deliberately indifferent to Plaintiff’s known sexual harassment and the sexually hostile education environment in which she suffered as a result of its failure to institute any accommodations for Plaintiff’s safety, including, but not limited to:
(i) excluding her assailant from campus; (ii) providing an escort for Plaintiff around campus;
(iii) requiring that her assailant not come within a certain distance of her; or (iv) excluding
her assailant from her residence hall and classrooms.
As a result of FSU’s deliberate indifference, Plaintiff was forced to leave
campus and lost her educational opportunities at the university.

She is suing for damages on both counts; amounts will be determined at trial.

In discussing the filing, Erin noted that the plaintiff may be able to show that the university did not follow its own policy about achieving consent. (The student conduct hearing transcript noted that Winston felt consent was given by the victim's moaning. Moaning does not fall under acceptable consent according to FSU's own definition.) This is not a Title IX issue and not included in the current filing, but Erin feels it could be added later as a breach of contract claim. 

So some questions:
How will FSU respond?
Will there actually be a trial? Will FSU settle?

They might think things are going their way given that they seem to have gotten Winston through his time at FSU earning a national championship in the process. But a trial is going to put a lot of administrators both within and outside the athletics department into the proverbial hot seat. And though I would love for a very public demonstration of the extent to which football controls the functioning of the university, I do not think FSU would like that too much. 

And finally, will Jameis Winston (who is not on trial here) ever have to answer more than three questions about the night in question?

What counts as activism? What's the message?

With the protests that spread in the wake of the grand jury decisions in Ferguson and New York and the spate of police shootings of unarmed black youth, I have felt the need to write about the activism, especially the actions of athletes in lending their voices and actions to these protests, and the support of team owners, coaches, and administrators in supporting these athletes against those who would try to silence them by suggesting they should stick to sports and/or are being disrespectful. These responses, by both fans and organizations like police associations, display the power athletes have in contributing to the public discourse. (It is not as if other individual protesters are being targeted by police associations.)

We have written a little about the campus activism around sexual assault and Title IX, but there has not been an obvious presence or concerted effort by student-athletes to join these campaigns. This is not a condemnation, just an observation.

In the wake of the decision not to punish Florida State University football player Jameis Winston for sexual assault (or anything else that he has done), there has been a lot of writing about the mishandling of every stage of the process--including the student conduct hearing--but no protests.

What happened after FSU lost the Rose Bowl to the University of Oregon on January 1 was not a protest either. The Oregon players who chanted "no means no" were not taking a stand against sexual assault--they were rubbing salt into the wound of the loser. It was similar to the taunts aimed at Cam Newton ("Scam Newton") and the playing of "Take the Money and Run" during the 2010 Iron Bowl held at Alabama. The similarity in both cases is that both Newton and Winston were found not responsible by various (and multiple) authorities. So the taunts were basically meaningless. Newton certainly shrugged them off and went off to the NFL, and it appears Winston will do the same.

What adds to the "this is not activism" verdict on Oregon's actions is that their chants occurred while they were doing the tomahawk chop--a highly offensive, racially insensitive action (no matter what "arrangements" financial or otherwise have been made with the Seminole Nation of Florida).

Football players and other student-athletes should step up and make a statement about campus sexual assault--and while they are at it perhaps misuse of Native American symbols and names. But this was not a statement. It was poor sportspersonship--even if perhaps Winston deserved it. It was not a stand against sexual assault or violence against women.  In fact it was a belittling of the issue because it was a device used to hurt Winston and the FSU community, not to support sexual assault victims or the campaigns against campus violence.The players will allegedly be punished. I suspect it will not be a meaningful punishment (like volunteering at a domestic violence shelter) and certainly will not disadvantage the Ducks when they play for the championship next week. In other words, it will likely be meaningless (and yet still more punishment than Winston ever received).

Winston cleared by conduct board

I have spent the last several days going through the various accounts of Florida State University student-athlete Jameis Winston's student conduct hearing. And the more I read, the more my initial response of "disappointed but not surprised" has changed. Because I truly am surprised that former Florida Supreme Court Justice Major Harding really felt that there was not enough evidence to confirm the Winston had violated FSU's student code of conduct.

A note about the media coverage of this case and its outcome: several reporters have written something to the effect of "FSU is investigating Winston despite the fact that the prosecutor chose not to file charges against him last year because of lack of evidence." What happened with the potential criminal case (the highly problematic one), has no bearing on this investigation. Winston is being charged with violations of FSU's student code of conduct. The school's investigation is mandatory (and almost 2 years late). There is no "despite."

After two days of hearings earlier this month, which included multiple witnesses who were questioned by the complainant (victim) and respondent (Winston) respectively, Harding announced in a letter to Winston that he did not find that the information presented met the preponderance of evidence standard required in student conduct hearings. Harding was approved by both sides to oversee the hearing, in part because he had no ties to FSU. Other panel members, however,  were FSU employees.

Both sides had witnesses; both had advisers all of whom were lawyers. Advisers are only allowed to confer and offer advice. All questions to witnesses were asked by the respondent, the complainant or members of the panel. Both the victim and the accused offered opening statements. Winston, somewhat curiously, had his entered into the record seemingly as an attempt to make it appear to be evidence, which it is not. As has been noted already in this 2-year long case, Winston has continually refused to answer questions about the events of that night in early December 2012. This hearing was not very different. He did not, as was his right, take questions about his statement which gave his version of the events of that night. His two witnesses, the roommates and teammates who have already had their own student conduct hearings, also were called and they too--as was their right--refused to answer questions. These are the two men who could have corroborated Winston's version of the events of that night which differ greatly from those of victim and do not hold up to various accounts offered by other witnesses including law enforcement, friends of the complainant, and health professionals.

As a reminder of some of the details: the victim did not know the name of and could not identify Winston, who maintains that the sexual encounter was consensual despite never--as the student conduct code requires--receiving verbal or physical consent. She only recognized him when they, coincidentally, had a class together, even after hearing his name she did not know who he was (i.e., the quarterback for FSU). She sought help immediately after Winston brought her home (she lied to him about where she lived and he dropped her off nearby), from her friends, police (both campus and local), family, and medical professionals (she went to the hospital, had a rape kit performed and asked for a victim's advocate). This was not a case of trying to bilk a celebrity or feeling bad after a consensual sexual encounter and "crying rape." (These narratives are actually quite rare.)  

Often in cases of sexual assault--at least in the criminal system--the victim's credibility is questioned. There were questions swirling about alcohol consumption and willingness to get into the cab with the three (implying that she was seeking multiple sexual encounters??), which the victim addressed during the hearing. But Harding was apparently not convinced that the victim did not want to go home with the men. He writes in his ruling that she did not seek help from people outside of the bar where they all were. This presumes a couple of things. One, that she was able to or felt safe enough to protest. Two, that even if she did want to go wherever they were going that such an action was tantamount to consent to sexual relations with any of them. It is not, which is why the fact that even Winston's statement did not include the victim saying yes makes me question what evidence Harding was looking at when making what amounted to a non-decision.

Harding's rationale also questions her motives and credibility in a way that Winston's was never questioned. Winston's credibility was very difficult to question--because he wouldn't answer questions--though his past behaviors are well known (stealing, making disparaging comments about women in a public place, writing and posting a pro-rape song). It is clear that none of these actions were a factor for Harding and also point to a problem that might hurt FSU: they were never the subject of student conduct code investigations. 

The victim's lawyer, Baine Kerr, who was present at the hearing as an adviser, said to the press that he and his team do not believe Florida State intends to hold Winston accountable. Given what I have read, I have to agree with him.

There is a 5-day period (which will be in January given the semester break) in which an appeal can be filed, but Kerr has not said whether they will do so.  Kerr and his team are also working on a civil lawsuit, and there remains the OCR investigation into FSU's handling of sexual assault cases. In other words, it's not over--for anyone.

Huntsville-Alabama Title IX case and how we understand violence and athletes

Erin has already written about the sexual assault case in Huntsville, but I want to put it in the larger context of what I have been seeing, thinking, and discussing.
 
We have been hearing a lot about sexual assault and intercollegiate football of late (Florida, FSU, Missouri) in addition to the domestic violence allegations against professional football players.
Also still in the news is the campus (and spreading) activism about sexual assault in colleges.

These are not separate issues, even though they sometimes are covered and discussed in different spaces and places--including different sections of the newspapers and different television stations. But these differences, in presentation, speak to the visibility of the issues.

In the movement to fight against and seek awareness of campus sexual assault, the voices and images have been dominated by young women. There has been a concerted effort on the part of activists, like those involved in Know Your IX, to ensure that these are not just white women, or even just women.

However, looking at the coverage of perpetrators in stories about sexual assault activism we see something much different. In the cases of sexual assault by male college students (who are not athletes) we don't see much at all. Their identities remain--in the media at least--largely invisible. This is somewhat unusual given that the media usually protects victim's identities. But in the stories of women who come forward to protest their treatment by and at their schools, the men remain unidentified and their race is presumed to be white. This is not a criticism of the media coverage, rather an observation--an observation that emerged out of the coverage of male student-athletes who commit sexual assault. The picture we see in these situations is of assailants and not victims. The assailants have been football or basketball players who are Black men.

The similarity--no discussion of race. We know that men of any race can be perpetrators, but the majority of perpetrators being named and seen are Black men, who are athletes. This perpetuates the stereotypes of Black men, especially Black male athletes, as inherently violent. This is not to say that these men are innocent or that the schools have handled these cases well; the latter is certainly not true--but that the picture skewed.

This is why the Huntsville case was an interesting interruption of sorts. Yes, a student athlete, but a hockey player. Again we know that hockey players can commit violence against women too (there are several current cases in the NHL), but we have not seen them in the coverage of sexual assault. And the athlete is white. (He is foreign-born, which of course does not negate his whiteness, but provides some complication of the good American white boy athlete image that runs in contrast to the violent Black athlete.)

This case, despite being just as egregious as the ones we have heard so much about, received much less media attention. One might argue that this is because college hockey is not as popular a sport as college basketball and football (though as UNH alum, Erin and I might disagree) or he is not a high-profile athlete. Besides Jameis Winston, though, none of the other accused student-athletes have been national names.

I am glad that the Huntsville case was resolved and wish the others were being better handled, but in addition to questioning how these cases are being handled, we need to question what we are seeing (and not seeing).

Comparing Universities' Response to Charges of Sexual Assault -- What a Difference a Year Makes?

Last week, the day after he came off the bench to lead the University of Florida to a 10-9 victory over Tennessee, quarterback Treon Harris was accused of sexually assaulting a female student on campus in the early morning of Sunday, October 5.  The following day, the University announced that campus and local police were working together to investigate forensic evidence, and that it was suspending Harris from the team in the meanwhile. Citing "no tolerance" for sexual assault, University president Bernie Machen vowed that student safety was the institution's top priority.  But last Friday, Harris's accuser withdrew her complaint.  The university reinstated Harris and he is expected to be back on the field this weekend. 

Meanwhile, 150 miles away in Tallahassee, Florida State is struggling to get a handle on its own controversy arising from allegations of its quarterback's sexual assault controversy. This week Fox Sports News reported on evidence seeming to suggest that FSU officials and Tallahassee police worked together to delay turning over the case to the state prosecutor and give a "head start" to the attorney for accused Jameis Winston. Moreover, the university's own public statement released in advance of that report as preemptive damage control may have backfired in that it has provided ammunition to the victim's attorney to point out that the university athletic department's early role in the Winston case was concealed from other branches of the university like its Title IX office.

What do we make of these two Sunshine State examples, in close proximity of time and space, but otherwise worlds apart?  For one thing, I don't think we'll ever know what prompted a student to accuse Harris of sexual assault and then withdraw that complaint. One possibility is that she deliberately filed a false charge against Harris and then later had a change of heart; at the other extreme, it's possible that she' a victim two-times over -- first of sexual assault and then of social pressure to stay silent. Or, maybe she was deterred from standing by her initial accusation after weighing the downside of going forward and having to deal with upheaval that Winston's accuser has faced, against the downside of going without justice. If either of those last two possibilities reflect the truth, this case represents that we still have a ways to go as a society in terms of the support we provide to victims and the respect we give to their privacy. 

Yet by comparing University of Florida to Florida State, we might also come to a tentative conclusion that at least university culture is moving in the right direction in its response to sexual assault and the prioritization of student safety over athletics.  Even though the charge was later withdrawn, and even though we don't know why, what the University of Florida did when it had the charge seems, from what we know, to have been the right thing. Declaring "no tolerance" for sexual assault was not a rush to judgment against Harris but an explanation for the university's prompt response, transparency, and decision to suspend Harris as an appropriate interim measure to protect the students safety. Whatever remains uncertain about Florida State's response to the charges against Winston, it is clear that its response was distinguishable from that of University of Florida under similar circumstances. Maybe we chalk that distinction up to the difference a year makes -- especially a year as big as this past one has been for public attention and legal scrutiny into to the problem of campus sexual assault.

Intercollegiate football <--> NFL: The case of Jameis Winston

I have been meaning to write about the re-investigation by Florida State University into the sexual assault allegedly committed by Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston.
The initial investigation into the charges of sexual assault, which is required by Title IX, was done more than a year after the assault for a variety of reasons, according to FSU which include lack of compliance by the accused and the then-ongoing investigation by Tallahassee law enforcement which did not result in enough evidence, according to the state attorney's office. (Perhaps, in part, because there was a never statement by Winston.)
The re-investigation does not, of course, ameliorate the Title IX violations. It should have occurred within 60 days of the reported assault.
But lawyers for the victim (who is no longer at the school) say they are pleased with FSU's current investigation. Though what results and when (after the post-season?) remains to be seen.
So all this has been going on during the late summer and into the start of the academic year.
And then this past week students and bystanders report that Jameis Winston was standing on a table in the student union yelling something obscene about women. The university investigates and decides, on Wednesday, to suspend him for the first half of their game against ACC rival Clemson. Winston gives a press conference and apologizes for his actions and seemingly to the FSU community--but not to women, curiously. He talks about overcoming adversity---as it relates to being a football team playing without its star player.
And then late Friday, FSU announces that after the "continuing investigation"* into the incident the powers-that-be have decided Winston should sit the entire game. The reasons for this revision of the punishment were never clearly explained. There was some speculation that Winston's account of the event did not coincide with that of bystanders.
I want to discuss Winston in light of his current position as an intercollegiate athlete who has been accused of sexual assault and as a future NFLer. (It is presumed that FSU is just trying to keep Winston eligible for this season and that he will enter the draft.)
The campus sexual assault movement has raised the issue of athletes committing sexual assaults and how these assaults are being addressed by schools (i.e., handled by athletic departments, athletes transferred to new and willing schools).
This past week, as Erin wrote about, the White House added to the conversation by creating a public awareness campaign about campus sexual assault. Part of the goal is to make this a campus community issue and not one that exists solely between victim and perpetrator (and those adjudicating and investigating). Whatever its faults, the purpose is to change campus climates.
FSU's handling of Winston's latest "bad decision" (Coach Jimbo Fisher) fails to do this. And Winston's own understanding of what he did and how he handled it also reflects the failure of the institution to convey (assuming that it actually wants to) that it takes these issues seriously.
Winston dressed for the game and went out in warm-up and took snaps. Apparently there had been some miscommunication, because Fisher sent Winston to the locker room and he came out with just his shirt and sweatpants and a baseball cap. How did Winston not get the message that his punishment would be enacted? Did he think that when things started going badly (as they did in the first half) that someone from on high would come down and say "ok, that's enough. Go in there and be the hero." Some media folks had suggested that the original half game suspension was actually setting Winston up for hero status.
What was also troubling, especially in light of the campaign for community responsibility, was the way Jimbo Fisher talked about the punishment. In the pre-game interview he refused to talk about it all saying that it was something they were handling.
This was a reiteration of his earlier statements made after the announcement of the half-game suspension and critiques that it was too light:
"We're in charge. It's our team. That's our thought."
That is not a statement that suggests greater concern for the sexually hostile climate that exists at FSU.
Switching attention to the organization Winston will likely become a part of: the NFL. I don't think anyone needs a refresher on the image problems that organization is facing. The question is, what will the NFL do with Jameis Winston? Which team will take him on? There have been some rumblings about whether Winston has hurt his future professional prospects (but mostly from the perspective of endorsements, not whether he will have a job as a football player). But Winston will enter the draft after the close of what is turning into a highly controversial season for the NFL and after the NFL releases its report on violence against women (expected by the Super Bowl).
The culture of privilege and the institutional ignorance about violence against women do not just emerge when athletes enter professional sports. They are cultivated in intercollegiate sports. Winston is just the current example; he is not the first, but how his story and future unfolds will be an indicator of how serious both college and professional football are about challenging their own damaging cultures.



* These are the moments that further our cynicism about internal investigations.

FSU finally addressing sexual assault

In April, I wrote about the expose into the police handling of the investigation into allegations of sexual assault against quarterback Jameis Winston. In that post, I noted the lack of effort on the part of the university to address the issues, seek accountability, and make efforts at changing the culture and policies at FSU.
In a move that flies in the face of my theory that some schools are making changes to sexual assault policies and procedures for the purpose of PR, FSU announced this week that it would be hiring a Title IX director and two sexual violence coordinators. My surprise is two-fold. One, an announcement from a university in the summer generally gets less notice and two, the hirings are being spun as proactive:
Florida State is not waiting for the federal government to complete an investigation into the university's responses to sexual assaults before it adds additional experts to the staff and adopts a new model for making students aware of their responsibilities for maintaining a safe campus.

They have waited a year and a half, however, after the initial triggering event. Winston allegedly assaulted a former FSU female student in December of 2012. The university is under new leadership which might be part of the impetus. An interim president took over in early April.
Of course, the investigation will likely result in other necessary changes.

A new type of punishment?

Reporters frequently ask us what the punishment is for failure to comply with Title IX regulations. And we always say something to the effect of "loss of federal funding...but that's never happened."
I continue to believe that one of the informal punishments, or at the very least, negative consequence, is the bad publicity that comes from accusations and findings of violations. In the situation many schools are facing with the visibility of complaints based on the handling of sexual assault cases, this "punishment" is fairly light, especially for victims of the crimes and their mishandling.
But the effect of public opinion may be having a larger impact than many schools would like. And an activist group called Ultra Violet is attempting to sway public opinion--specifically the opinion of applicants--by taking out ads aimed at informing students about the problems with sexual assault on various campuses. They have thus far targeted Dartmouth, Occidental, Berkeley, University of Michigan, Brandeis, American University, FSU, and Harvard.

There doesn't seem to be a rationale for why they have picked these particular schools
The group is claiming responsibility for the 14% drop in applicants to Dartmouth this year. I think that it would be difficult to prove a direct cause and effect there. It's not as if Dartmouth doesn't already have a reputation. Long before the recent revelations and investigations, there was publicity about the Dartmouth fraternities and their effect on campus culture. (Also, other schools are seeing double digit drops in applications as well. Inside Higher Ed  reported a similar drop at Quinnipiac which is being attributed to the economy.)
Regardless, the campaign by Ultra Violet is drawing attention, though some schools don't need any help.

The president of Occidental College, which is still under investigation and has already agreed to a settlement for Clery Act violations, has noted the potential damage to the college's reputation. Ironically, the administration's focus on a positive marketing message has caused greater negative publicity with charges that administrators have not done enough to actually remedy the problems on campus. The attention to image and legal defenses has drawn continued protests by students and alums. Donations are down and trustees are not too happy with all the negative press. At a trustee event a few weeks ago, trustees got into it with student, faculty, and alumni protesters who stood outside the event with signs expressing solidarity with victims. One trustee demanded names of rapists from the protesters and questioned their integrity when they told him to go ask administrators.

The tactics of Ultra Violet have been called "aggressive," a problematic description when it comes to female activism. I haven't seen anyone call Occidental's campaign to improve their image by hiring outside PR consulting firms (and refusing to report the costs) or confiscating the computers, phones, and records of professors as aggressive. And it's not as if the passive responses to campus sexual assault that so many schools now stand accused of has been successful.