http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2016/01/25/florida-state-settles-title-ix-lawsuit-erica-kinsman-jameis-winston/79299304/
quote:
Florida State has settled a federal Title IX lawsuit with Erica Kinsman, a former student who said she was raped by quarterback Jameis Winston in 2012.
The settlement was announced on Monday, more than a year after she initially filed the complaint in federal court.
FSU agreed to pay Kinsman $950,000 an amount that includes attorney's fees as well as make a five-year commitment to awareness, prevention and training programs. The lump sum is the largest settlement for Title IX claims regarding indifference to a student's reported sexual assault.
"I will always be disappointed that I had to leave the school I dreamed of attending since I was little," Kinsman said in a statement. "I am happy that FSU has committed to continue making changes in order to ensure a safer environment for all students."
FSU did not admit to liability in the settlement, which university president John Thrasher said the school agreed to in order to avoid additional litigation expenses.
"We have an obligation to our students, their parents and Florida taxpayers to deal with this case, as we do all litigation, in a financially responsible manner," Thrasher said in a statement. "With all the economic demands we face, at some point it doesn't make sense to continue even though we are convinced we would have prevailed."
The settlement does not affect an ongoing Title IX investigation by the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. Kinsman filed a complaint with the agency in early 2014 and it opened an investigation in April of that year.
John Clune, one of Kinsman's attorneys, said not withdrawing her OCR complaint was critical for Kinsman in agreeing to the settlement.
In her lawsuit, which was settled in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Kinsman alleged that Florida State was "deliberately indifferent" to her reported sexual assault and that its response was "clearly unreasonable." She asserted that FSU concealed and obstructed the investigation so as to allow Winston to play football.
Kinsman, who left FSU in November 2013 when the case became publicly known, argued that continued harassment denied her of her educational opportunities under Title IX.
As part of the settlement, FSU agreed to publish annual reports of its programs for the next five years.