<p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;">An open letter to the Florida State University community:


In the face of misinformation in the media during the past 10 months, Florida State University has maintained a deliberate silence about how we have handled the sexual assault allegation made against a prominent athlete. The University has remained silent for one reason: To protect our students, who are after all our highest priority.

<p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;">But as we expect other stories to appear, it is abundantly clear that the continual drumbeat of misinformation about the University's actions causes harm to our students, faculty, alumni, supporters and the FSU community as a whole. Because of this, and within the constraints of state and federal privacy laws, we want to share with you more detail to set the record straight.


Below is a general timeline of how the University became aware of the allegation and how it responded. As you read through the following, we ask that you keep in mind that these events unfolded at a time when FSU, like all American colleges and universities, was adjusting to new guidance from the federal government on preventing student sexual misconduct under Title IX.

· Immediately after being alerted to a possible sexual assault of a student, the FSU Police Department ("FSUPD") responded and determined the alleged incident occurred off campus.


· FSUPD notified the Tallahassee Police Department, which assumed jurisdiction. At this point, the suspect was unidentified.


· The FSUPD also alerted the university's Victim Advocate Program, which dispatched an advocate to meet the complainant and her family at the Tallahassee Memorial Hospital emergency room.


· The Victim Advocate Program serves as the first point of contact on campus for victims of sexual assault. Its advocates are bound by client confidentiality protection under Florida law and they work behind the scenes. They routinely inform victims how to pursue criminal and student conduct proceedings; offer emotional support and validation; give referrals to other resources; and assist with logistical help, such as contacting professors and rescheduling exams. FSU has used this confidential "victim-centered" approach, now being recommended by the White House and Congressional leaders, for nearly 20 years.


· The first time anyone at FSU outside the campus police and Victim Advocate Program learned about the alleged sexual assault was in January 2013, when a Tallahassee PD detective called the athlete on his cellphone. The athlete immediately notified the Athletics Department, where officials referred him and his family to a Tallahassee attorney.


· Shortly thereafter, the attorney informed the Athletics Department that TPD was no longer pursuing the case.


· The Athletics Department also considered accounts by the athlete and two other FSU student athletes who were present at the encounter. All three independently described it as consensual. Based on that and the TPD's decision, the Athletics Department did not file a report with the University's Title IX administrator or the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities.


· Although victim advocates continued to provide services and to have confidential interactions with the complainant for months, they were duty-bound not to share any of the information with FSU Title IX officials. Those officials knew nothing about the matter until November 2013, when TPD notified the University it had received media inquiries and was referring the suspended case to the State Attorney's Office for review.


· The University immediately took steps to protect the complainant's privacy and safety. The University advised the complainant about impending news stories. FSUPD provided additional security detail for her sorority. The Registrar put her publicly available contact information on "lock down." And the FSU General Counsel persuaded the student newspaper on deadline not to publish the name of the complainant.


· The University conducted a Title IX investigation. FSU once again reached out to the complainant to ascertain her wishes but was told by her local attorney to cease all contact with her client. The University reviewed voluminous documents released by the State Attorney's Office in mid-December 2013 after the State Attorney announced that he would not bring criminal charges against the athlete. These documents included sworn affidavits, investigative reports, detailed text messaging records, recorded interviews, forensic lab reports, and toxicology and DNA results.


· As reported in the media, FSU's Title IX Office also met with the athlete on January 23, 2014, even in the absence of a complaint, but he declined to make a statement at that time.


· On February 10, 2014, with neither party offering additional information to the investigative public record, FSU found that there was insufficient evidence to support a finding in the Title IX investigation at this time. Importantly, the ruling expressly left the door open for reconsideration if further information was brought forth.


· Also in February 2014, the complainant's attorneys asked the University to preserve documents under a litigation hold, indicating FSU would be facing a civil lawsuit by the complainant.


· In April 2014, as disclosed by the complainant's attorney and widely reported in the media, the U.S. Dept. of Education Office of Civil Rights initiated a Title IX investigation of the University's handling of the case as well as all of its Title IX processes.


· In May 2014, FSU brought student conduct charges for invasion of privacy against the two athletes who witnessed the sexual encounter. At the University's invitation, the complainant appeared at the May 20 hearing and testified about the incident. During the complainant's visit, FSU reiterated its willingness to take her statement about the athlete she alleged 

had assaulted her.


· As disclosed by the complainant's attorney and widely reported in the media, on Aug. 6, 2014--after multiple requests by FSU over the previous 20 months--the attorney agreed to make the complainant available for an interview. Based on her statement, the University reopened a confidential Title IX investigation and, once again, sought a statement from the 

athlete.


· In a letter to the University that was widely publicized by the media, the athlete's attorney informed FSU his client would cooperate with the investigation but raised doubts as to whether the University could guarantee his right to due process. The attorney argued that the University had been compromised by an "untenable conflict of interest," in which it had to find the 

athlete responsible or else face a civil lawsuit, sanctions from the federal government and public and media criticism.


· As we approach a final resolution of the complaint, we remain committed to investigating this matter in accordance with our Title IX obligations and will proceed in a manner that preserves the rights of both parties despite the difficult circumstances. 

-----


The University takes sexual assault very seriously. The University is also cooperating fully with the U.S. Dept. of Education investigation into this matter. Indeed, it was the University that informed the DOE nearly six months ago about the Athletics Department knowledge of the case.


Meanwhile, as a result of our own review, we have begun enhancing our training and examining our policies while putting into place concrete changes. These changes are aimed at reducing sexual assault and sexual violence, as well as strengthening our response to sexual assault complaints under Title IX. More information on our programs and services can be found at https://smr.fsu.edu/.


We did not want you to confuse our silence with idleness, a lack of caring or, as some have alleged, an institutional conspiracy to protect a star athlete. We hope what we've shared with you establishes otherwise.

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<p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;">https://floridastate.rivals.com/content....ID=1691065

I am as frustrated with anyone with the Jags 0-5 start as I felt 4-1 was a real possibility. While the majority of the blame can be cast on "Schedulegate" - Goodell's conspiracy vs. the Jags that following Sundays game with Tennessee will have had  us play in 4/6 games on the road and in THREE different time zones!!! The coaching staff  must shoulder the remainder of the blame as it's apparent to anyone who watches that  the talent is there on this Jacksonville team. Case in point - The Jags this week will use "running back by committee" moving forward to determine who gets to play. How many other teams can say they have NFL caliber running backs who are EQUAL in talent??? What a great job by our GM and personnel department to put together a dream team of running backs that can take so much pressure off of our rookie QB!

 

After doing extensive research, I was encouraged to see however that this season and the future in general is far from a lost cause. Consider this....

 

I was encouraged to see the many, many parallels between Joe Namath and our own Blake Bortles. In 1965,  the Jets lost their first six games. While we will be 1-5 after Sunday, I feel this is a fair comparison. The Jets won the last 5/8 in "65" and Namath was named American Football League Rookie of the Year. The Jags will have 10 games left after Sunday compared to the 8 that Namath had, so utilizing advanced sports analytics, The Jags should win 8/10, which would put us at 8-8 if Bortles is able  continues the trend that Namath established in 1965. I was truly inspired upon drawing this analytical and non emotional conclusion and now head into the final 11 games of the season with a renewed hope. 

Love any USMNT games, and tonight is no different should be a pretty good pre-game, and post-game show with it being Landon Donovan's swan song.

Anyone care to make predictions for stats on Sunday?  The homer in me wants to see Blake get at least 332 yards, which would put him at an even 1000 for the year in 3 1/2 games.  However, in the end as long as we can win the game, I really don't care.

 

Passing: 350yards, 2 TD's

 

Rushing: Johnson 12/65

               Gerhart   5/15 1 TD

               Bortles

 

Receiving: A. Robinson 6/105 1TD 

                 M. Lee   5/95

                 C. Shorts 3/55

                 C. Harbor 4/40

                 A. Hurns 4/40

                 M. Brown 2/25

                 N. Jacobs 3/10 1TD

 

Defense: 3 Sacks/2 FF/1R/2 INT

 

Final Score 28-17 Jags

I keep hearing this on the radio, but can't remember what happened.  Anyone care to enlighten me? 

Time to lighten the mood up a bit on the board. Me first:


Delanie Walker




Ivy Calvin from Storage Wars

This is a prime example of a man thinking he can get away with anything.

<a class="" href='https://twitter.com/SportsCenter'>SportsCenter ‏@SportsCenter </a> <a class="" href='https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/520324665538281472' title="5:27 PM - 9 Oct 2014">4m4 minutes ago</a>
<p class="" style="color:rgb(41,47,51);font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;background-color:rgb(245,248,250);">BREAKING: Todd Gurley has been indefinitely suspended during investigation into alleged violation of NCAA rules.

My apologies if this doesn't deserve its own thread and mods do with it as you wish if it doesn't.

 

I and others have been vocal of displeasure with both OC and DC positions.  The coaching, in my eyes, has been subpar across the board.  It's not all about the numbers (though those are certainly bad too) but the consistently poor play, players looking lost, the soft coverage on defense, the short passing play calls on offense, all around it's been below average.  Some players seem to have regressed, Gratz being one example.  He wasn't a world-beater last season but he's been flat out bad when he's been on the field this season.

 

I don't like Fisch's offense.  The plays remind me of a college offense.  A short to occasionally intermediate passing game that might excel at a college level where you have discrepancies in talent at the skill positions from team to team.  You don't have that, to that extent, in the NFL.  This is another situation where I don't even have to look at the numbers, the play and the play calling has been bad.  We're a full season and 5 games into it.  If it hasn't changed by now I don't see it changing.  I don't see a lot of adjustments either way, offense or defense, that lead me to believe great success is coming.

 

I'm curious for those that think Fisch and Babich are good enough, what leads you to think that?  What about their coaching do you see as a positive?  What have you been impressed with, from either side, that makes you think they shouldn't be upgraded?  Help me out here, I'm hoping this leads to good discussion and not name calling back and forth and a bunch of drivel. 

 

Obviously if you'd asked the Jags brass in August where they'd be in week 6 with the running game - they wouldn't have said "evaluating."  But they are. 

 

Gerhart is likely a bad signing with a rapidly closing window to prove otherwise. D-Rob still shows signs of being a dynamic C.O.P. back. Storm is an exciting prospect and Todman is an effective KR that catches the ball pretty well and has a decent short burst on the edge. 

 

The common denominator among all of their inconsistencies or lack of success is an O-line that has finally settled into a steady group of starters and showed signs last Sunday of cohesion.  

For better or for worse this line is very, very inexperienced and the only true vet among them has sorely underperformed.  

 

I think this might be the week it all comes together.  Dare I say…. a perfect "Storm?"  Ba-doom-crash!  Ok,Ok - terrible jokes aside - let's take a look at the tacks run defense. 

 

They are 26th against the run thus far in 2014 - giving up 136 yds per game on average.  They've held a few decent backs to modest gains in certain games, but have given up a few big runs to skew the average and on the whole aren't strong against the run. 

 

So finally  -   I think the Jags have a real shot at pulling it together on the ground this week.  If they can manage 20+ rushing attempts I think they may gain 90 yards without the help of Bortles which should get them over the 100 yard mark. The question is: who will get the carries?

 

I think we'll see some more evaluation - but I think Johnson/Robinson may be the committee of the future in the Jags backfield.  

 

I'd like to see Toby on a few third downs and catching the ball out of the backfield on other downs occasionally - while letting D-Rob and Johnson share the early downs most of the time.