Jameis Winston still facing legal crosshairs as he preps for NFL Draft

Jameis Winston's amicable divorce from FSU is official.

He's set to enter the NFL Draft, committed to chasing millions instead of staying in school and pursuing a redemption run after the Rose Bowl fiasco.

It's a free choice deal. His call. As a likely Top 5 pick, Winston is making the right one.

But legally, he has issues. Inescapable ones.

The woman who accused Winston of rape has filed a federal civil lawsuit against FSU trustees. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Orlando on Wednesday, argues that FSU violated the woman's Title IX rights by refusing to investigate the incident properly. The alleged victim is seeking an unspecified amount of damages.

But there's another legal crosshair for Winston that's more personal. A civil suit against him looms. And unlike the school's recent code of conduct hearing when Winston read a prepared statement and offered minimal testimony his silence during a civil suit will offer no legal privileges.

"In a criminal case silence cannot be used against a person," said Nancy Hogshead-Makar, a prominent advocate for women in sport. "In a civil case, that's not true. You can be silent but that can be used against you."

In other words, Winston might have some explaining to do.

Hogshead-Makar has been working as a consultant with the legal team of the alleged victim in the case. It's both a personal and professional cause for Hogshead-Makar, a rape survivor who was attacked on campus in Duke during her sophomore year in college.

Nearly 34 years later, her convictions comes with a price. Not surprisingly, she's been torched on Facebook and Twitter. It's the usual juvenile dynamic: If you bring up anything "negative," you must be a "hater."

Maybe you're just trying to get to the truth. Maybe like a lot of other objective voices, you see the procedural flaws in the police investigation. Maybe you're concerned, just like prosecutor William Meggs, that there were a number of shortcomings in the police investigation that factored into his decision not to press criminal charges. Here's a bit of logic for the pom-pom wavers:

"There's nothing wrong with holding the idea that FSU is a great academic institution that has developed a great football program and think the way the Jameis Winston case has not been investigated by the school and police is problematic," Hogshead-Makar said. "You can hold those thoughts at the same time."

But no, the Us vs. Them shtick continues. The federal and civil suits will add a few incendiary pieces to the fire. "s**t shaming," as she appropriately calls it.

It can work the other way, as Winston found out at the Rose Bowl as several Oregon players taunted him with a "no means no" tomahawk-chop chant.

Hogshead-Makar didn't have a problem with that, even as others called for apologies from the players. "They were using something that would be embarrassing to him but nonetheless sending a positive message," she said.

Whether you love or despise Winston, this much is true:

The rape allegations are part of his permanent record. Will personal conduct perceptions factor into a potential drop in the draft? It's happened before, once infamously to former UM standout Warren Sapp.

Considered a top-five selection in 1995, Sapp dropped to No. 12 (Tampa Bay) after reports indicated he had tested positive for cocaine and marijuana.

Sapp has called it "the biggest lie ever told."

Perhaps it's impossible given the he-said, she-said dynamics of a rape allegation, but the truth would certainly eliminate the lies and misconceptions in Winston's case.

This may be a good thing or a bad thing for him.

But this much we know: Jameis Winston is out at FSU.

But Game Over?

No. Far from it.

In many ways, it's just beginning.

gdiaz@tribune.com Read George Diaz's blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/enfuego

Copyright 2015, Orlando Sentinel

Source: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-state-seminoles/os-fsu-jameis-winston-george-diaz-0108-20150107-column.html