Jameis Winston investigated for groping an Uber driver

[pwaldo]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...s-groping.html

The NFL has launched an investigation after a female Uber driver from Arizona came forward accusing Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston of groping her on the job in 2016.

The accuser, known only as Kate, told BuzzFeed News on Friday that she was driving Winston back from a party in Scottsdale, Arizona, at 2am on March 13, 2016, when he 'reached over' and grabbed her.

He denies the allegations but the NFL has confirmed it is investigating them.

The driver has not gone to police and has not filed a lawsuit against him because she wants to remain anonymous, she said.

Kate claimed that she arrived at the party after being booked through the app and was told by a group of men that she would be driving Winston who they said was 'famous'.

Winston was the only passenger in the car and sat in the front with Kate, she said.

As soon as she started driving, Kate said Winston began shouting homophobic slurs at pedestrians, and otherwise was behaving poorly.

Things took an even darker turn when she pulled up in front of Los Betos Mexican Food so that her passenger could pick up a meal at the drive-thru window.

While they were waiting for Winston's order, Kate said, 'he reached over and he just grabbed my crotch.'

According to the woman, who asked to keep her last name out of the story for fear of backlash from NFL fans, Winston kept his hands on her privates for 3-5 seconds and only removed them after she asked him, 'What's up with that?'

In an incident report to Uber, which told her to go to the police, she said: 'Looking back, I sincerely wish I would have kicked him out but he is apparently a big athlete in the NFL and he's very physically imposing.

'I was afraid that I'd make him more angry...he is NOT safe for other female drivers.'

[doniceage]

The floodgates are just starting to open.

Don

[Jameis1of1]

The floodgates are just starting to open.

Don

Indeed, players are now living in the age of social media, social justice warriors, mob mentality, a guilty-until-proven-innocent belief system and the like ... these are not the days when Brett Favre could lead bar room choruses of "we want some p**sy" and send obscene pics to female reporters, or the days of younger Ben Roethlisberger who could be accused of rape and get a whopping zero game suspension or even the more recent days of Julian Edelman who could be both charged and arrested for sexual assault and get the same zero game suspension ... every single professional athlete, actor and just celebrity in general could find themselves "accused" by someone somewhere at any time.

As for Jameis ... the fact that this not only happened 20 months ago but that there was never even a mere police report filed (unlike with Ezekiel Elliott), the driver originally did not i.d. Jameis himself, and that there seems to have been other witnesses in the car who will confirm that Jameis was not even in the front seat, but the back seat, all bodes well for Jameis.

On top of that, the fact that this driver is now being counseled to make this a public issue right before the Arizona state statute of limitations expires (it's been 20 months and the statute of limitations is 24 months in Arizona on this sort of thing) makes it look like this could be a simple money-grab. However, Jameis isn't exactly the athlete to try that sort of thing with. He's not Big Ben, Kobe and the many other high-profile stars that have paid handsomely to just make public relations issues disappear. Jameis is the guy, who when he was accused of rape, turned around and sued his accuser for defamation, with that accuser backing down, dropping her mere civil case (there was never a criminal case as Jameis was never even charged, let alone arrested or convicted) and then signing a settlement with Jameis so he wouldn't go through with his defamation case against her, and according to Jameis' father, the accuser didn't receive a single penny from Jameis in the process.

Now, I'm NOT victim-shaming whatsoever as I wasn't in the uber vehicle and for all I know, the driver may have been "touched for 3-5 seconds" like she says. However, it does seem pretty clear that there were multiple passengers in the vehicle and that Jameis was sitting in the back seat, so another passenger would have been the one to actually touch the driver and not Jameis himself.

Many people want Jameis to expose the front-seat passenger but I doubt he does that. More likely is that the front-seat passenger simply contacts the NFL and offers to sign a legal affidavit verifying he or she was the actual front-seat passenger and that Jameis was sitting in the back-seat. However there is a very real possibility that the front-seat passenger was also an NFL player as when this happened Jameis was in Arizona for Kurt Warner's charity event, as were Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Vick (both of who have an actual rap sheet), Patrick Peterson, Tyrod Taylor and other NFL players and all hung around Jameis. Jameis also isn't known to run with a "posse" and it's therefore likely that other NFL players and not mere personal friends of Jameis were in the uber which may also be why Jameis is reluctant to name the front-seat passenger as he may not want to be looked at the way Kobe was when he named Shaq during his own investigation with the Colorado P.D.

There are also many, like Jason Whitlock, saying that even if Jameis did nothing wrong, he shouldn't have put himself in that situation or that he should have "controlled the narrative" by holding a press conference right away. I think both of those statements are absurd for a plethora of reasons.

Firstly, the "situation" Jameis put himself in was to merely call an uber and get in it with friends. That's not a bad situation. That's not akin to PacMan Jones constantly visiting seedy strip clubs or Brandon Marshall constantly getting into fist fights with women, etc. It's a simple cab ride.

Secondly, it seems clear that neither Jameis nor his attorneys felt there was even a message to control. The uber driver did NOT i.d. Jameis at first nor did she file a police report. As far as Jameis was concerned, the driver may or may not have had a disturbing interaction with the front-seat passenger and his uber account got suspended as his account was the one used to book the uber service. That's not a big deal. It would be akin to him ordering some delivery food while he's having a family get together and a delivery girl bringing the food to his house and a friend or family member opening the door, paying the delivery girl and making a lewd comment, with the delivery girl then reporting the comment to her bosses and her bosses calling Jameis to say, "We won't deliver to your house anymore as someone at your party sexually harassed our delivery girl". In such a situation Jameis would probably say "I wasn't the one who answered the door or paid the delivery girl but I'm sorry that happened" and then just order food the next time from a different delivery service.

Regardless, Jameis is basically the NFL's version of Kobe Bryant (without ever actually being charged with a crime of course). He's a young star with a massive resume that is shattering age-related league records and looks like he could rewrite the history books, while at the same time being a very polarizing public figure who people either love or literally hate and wish ill on. I don't know anyone who is just indifferent to Jameis, they either love him or despise him ... and it was the exact same way with Kobe.

However, in closing ... ALL celebrities, be they athletes or actors, politicians or mere reality personalities, should probably start having at least one bodyguard with them at all times and maybe even wearing body cams as to date there have now been 87 entertainment field personalities, as well as a host of politicians and athletes "accused" of various evils, and in a day and age where being accused of something, whether you did anything wrong or not, is enough to cost you millions in endorsements and paying jobs, security and transparency is of the utmost importance.

[Jameis1of1]

Philadelphia Eagles Corner Back Ronald Darby just went public and said there were THREE passengers in the uber and that he and Jameis were in the BACK SEAT:

www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/21468900/ronald-darby-vouches-jameis-winston-says-accusations-tampa-bay-buccanerers-qb-just-not-true

"I felt the need to come forward and clarify some inaccurate accounts of the evening of March 13, 2016 when myself, a friend and Jameis Winston took an Uber ride in Arizona," Darby said in his statement. "There were three of us in the car, not just one as has been reported. Myself and Jameis were in the backseat. I am confident that nothing inappropriate in nature happened in the car that evening and Jameis did not have any physical contact with the Uber driver. The accusations are just not true."

- Eagles CB Ronald Darby

As I said above, Jameis Winston is NOT the kind of guy to try and scam for a quick buck. This uber driver gal may be in for a whole lot of trouble as it wouldn't surprise me at all if Jameis iles a defamation suit against her.

Jameis is a true alpha male and leader and he just isn't the kind of guy to pay a scammer to keep silent ... just like he fights for every yard on the football field (which sometimes leads to hilarious Favre-esque turnovers as he truly has a never-say-die attitude on every single play), he does the same in his personal life ... the young man is as real as they come.

BY THE WAY ... according to the NFL Player's Association the NFL itself isn't even investigating Jameis at this time ... maybe the leage even knows this is either a simple money-grab ... or that something did happen but it's a case of mistaken identity.

[Capt Forest]

good information.

[Jameis1of1]

LATEST UPDATE:

Fox Sports Jay Glazer just reported that:

(a) The female uber driver who said her accusations against Jameis have nothing to do with $$$$$$$$$$$$ .... just hired the exact same attorney Jameis already beat in the Erica Kinsman case! Hahahaha, I'm sorry but you just can't make this stuff up ... this lady just exposed herself as a money-hungry liar and the attorney, who was already discredited is now exposed as someone who is just seeking revenge ... sad.

(b) He (Fox Sports Jay Glazer) has received a video-recording of the exact message Uber left for Jameis himself after the so-called incident which Glazer quoted verbaitm as saying, "you or somebody else in the car"! Boom goes the dynamite! This message from uber itself is also proof-positive the female driver is after a cash-grab and lying and that Jameis and Eagles CB Ronald Darby are telling the truth about other passengers in the car!

I would be shocked if Jameis does not SUE THE UBER DRIVER for defamation just as he did to Kinsman as Jameis doesn't take lightly to being falsely accused of things and doesn't "pay for silence" like many other athletes (Roethlisberger, Kobe, etc) do.

However ... the simple fact is that the American court system is broken as it allows people to falsely accuse people in civil trials without any real penalty for doing so. This uber driver is probably being represented pro-bono by a vengeful attorney looking to make the news and make a buck and when Jameis wins, he will still have had to spend money on his own lawyers, so this money-hungry lady will consider this a "win" for her.

The American courts need to start throwing people in jail for making provably false allegations against innocent people!

[Jameis1of1]

I can't wait till the Hollywood biopic of Jameis Winston's life story comes out ... truth is stranger than fiction and Jameis' life is the stuff of legends ..

[pwaldo]

I can't wait till the Hollywood biopic of Jameis Winston's life story comes out ... truth is stranger than fiction and Jameis' life is the stuff of legends ..

lol

There won't be a Hollywood in a few years after they all get arrested for rape and all the studios get shut down for sexual harassment. They seem to be racing against the NFL to see which one can sink a billion dollar industry the quickest.

[Jameis1of1]

lol

There won't be a Hollywood in a few years after they all get arrested for rape and all the studios get shut down for sexual harassment. They seem to be racing against the NFL to see which one can sink a billion dollar industry the quickest.

I wouldn't shed a tear for Hollyweird ... people have known for decades about that cesspool and never did anything about it ... it's basically citizen journalists and brave individuals outing the scum and in this age of social media, it's making an impact ... but ... people also love their entertainment and the celebrity culture, so I imagine for every actor that gets disgraced and put out to pasture, a new one will become "the next big thing".

However, just like with journalism and publishing, some of the best material is produced by individuals and small companies/presses rather than the old guard and that's a great thing!

As for me, my favorite movies are documentaries as I like to "always be learning" rather than merely amuse (as in, "not think") myself. I did see Thor 3 with my son recently and enjoyed it, so I'm not above seeing a good ole popcorn flic now and then but I'd rather watch a good documentary ... or read a great book!

[blackhorseson]

I'm just wondering if she thought she could make a quick buck because of his little shoplifting incident in college. I don't love or hate him. Sure, he did something stupid in college, as most do. He learned from his mistake, and to me looks like he is doing a great job at being a grown up man, being honest, and working very hard. Unfortunately you get these freeloaders that try to tear people down.
I agree, they should have a law for false allegations like this one. Make the accuser pay the attorney fees and court costs, as well as jail time and public service.