Mike McGovern: Jameis Winston rape case only going to get messier
No matter how it ends, both he and his accuser have already suffered
As it stands now, there's not a whole lot we can be sure of when it comes to the sexual assault allegations involving Florida State quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate Jameis Winston.
And that's in spite of all the attention the situation has gotten.
The alleged incident occurred 51 weeks ago, but it took until mid-November for the case to go public - thanks to TMZ - make headlines and give pause to Heisman voters, many of whom have chosen to rethink their ballots.
During the months in between, Winston was never interviewed by police; Timothy Jansen, Winston's attorney was under the impression in February that the case had been closed; and a Tallahassee police detective reportedly counseled the accuser to think twice about filing charges - the logic being that because "Tallahassee is a big football town," the accuser might be "raked over the coals" for jeopardizing Winston's career and the Seminoles' season.
This is a real mess, that's likely to get messier the longer it goes on, and it could go on for a while.
Willie Meggs, the Florida state attorney, has guesstimated it could take another couple of weeks before a decision is made on whether to charge Winston.
Jansen, sounding as if he has not a hint of doubt about Winston's innocence, told ESPN.com, "We expressed our concerns that the delay would affect Mr. Winston's reputation, voters in the Heisman and Florida State's ability to go to the national championship game. We're hoping this cloud can be lifted sooner rather than later."
Which sounds perfectly reasonable until you hear from the other side. Those concerns about the Heisman and the national championship couldn't be more trivial or misplaced if it turns out Winston is guilty.
Which the accuser's attorney, Patricia Carroll, thinks he is.
"To be clear, the victim did not consent," said Carroll, in a statement. "This was rape."
There is no middle ground here, so we'll see how it all plays out.
But while the police and the lawyers inch their way through the he-saids and the she-saids, on their way to a resolution, there is one thing about which we can be absolutely certain: No one's walking away from this a winner.
If Winston is exonerated in the eyes of the justice system, there's still the unavoidable damage that will have been done to his reputation - and not just in the short term as far as this year's Heisman Trophy is concerned.
More than a few folks will believe he got off, not because he was innocent, but because he was the Big Man on Campus, on a campus and in a town where football is king.
And if he's innocent, he doesn't deserve that, but the stain of being an "accused rapist" will take awhile to remove.
And if Winston is charged and found guilty, well, even though the accuser "wins," she probably stands to lose some, as well.
That detective who reportedly tried to convince her not to pursue charges, while his advice was indefensible - rape is rape, no matter how football-crazed the town - the accuser better have thick skin.
Already she's been a target on message boards and in social media.
Let's hope that's all she has to endure. It could get much worse as a recent case in Maryville, Mo., proves.
In January, 14-year-old Daisy Coleman was allegedly raped by a 17-year-old football player, Matthew Barnett. Charges were filed and the sheriff proclaimed the case would "definitely" result in prosecutions.
Except that the charges were eventually dropped - many believe because Barnett came from an influential family.
Melinda Coleman, Daisy's mother, lost her job, she thinks because her employer has ties to the Barnett family.
Having had enough of living in a town that wanted nothing to do with them, Melinda Coleman and her four children moved back to Albany, Mo.
Their house in Maryville, which was for sale, burned to the ground in April, under suspicious circumstances.
Granted, that's an extreme case, but these days, what used to pass for extreme too often has become conceivable.
So regardless of what happens in the Jameis Winston case - charged or not charged, guilty or innocent - either he or the accuser is going to suffer.
In many ways, both of them already have.
Contact Mike McGovern: 610-371-5068 or
mmcgovern@readingeagle.com
