Jimbo Fisher says he was unaware of FSU sexual battery policy in deposition
In a deposition taken in an ongoing Title IX lawsuit against Florida State brought by a woman who said she was raped by quarterback Jameis Winston, head coach Jimbo Fisher said he was unaware of the school's policy on sexual battery.
Fisher was deposed on Sept. 22 as part of a lawsuit brought by Erica Kinsman, who accused Winston of raping her in December 2012. Her lawsuit against FSU's board of trustees alleges that the school was "deliberately indifferent" to her report of a sexual assault and that its response deprived her of educational opportunities in violation of her rights under Title IX.
FSU released a heavily-redacted version of the 186-page deposition on Wednesday in response to a public records request from USA TODAY Sports. It also released a 183-page deposition from Melissa Ashton, the assistant dean of students and director of the Victim Advocate Program at FSU.
Fisher said in the deposition that around December 2012 and January 2013, around the time the allegation against Winston was first reported to police and initially investigated, that he was not aware of FSU's policy about sexual battery. Instead, he relied on procedure.
"I was to report to my superior," Fisher said.
Fisher said he could not recall an October 2014 statement FSU provided to the New York Times which stated that the athletics department became aware of the allegation against Winston in January 2013.
The school previously admitted that Fisher and senior associate athletics director Monk Bonasorte were aware of the allegation in January 2013 but did not notify the Title IX coordinator or the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities.
FSU has previously argued in filings in the lawsuit that an "appropriate person" was not aware of the harassment Kinsman alleged and could not take corrective action.
Asked in his deposition what he knew of Title IX, Fisher responded that he understood it to be "equality in men's sports to women's sports."
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As part of her deposition, Ashton said that she could not remember there being Title IX specific staff at FSU in December 2012. She described a "chaotic" time in the summer and fall of 2013 as the school was changing its policies involving Title IX.
The Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights issued a "Dear Colleague" letter in April 2011 reminding schools of their responsibility under Title IX to investigate and adjudicate reports of sexual harassment and violence on their campuses.
"I think it was nationwide — you know, the Dear Colleague letter was short. You must do this," Ashton said. "It didn't tell you how to do this. It wasn't very helpful with implementing things.
"So, I think FSU was not unlike other institutions. We were trying to figure it out…"
Ashton stated that in her nine years at the school she would estimate 20 football players have been accused of sexual violence and that "easily double" that number have been involved in interpersonal violence.
Ashton stated the victim advocate program served 828 new students in the 2014 calendar year, including 113 victims of sexual battery.
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In response to reports of the contents of deposition on Wednesday night, Florida State released a statement that said, in part, "The number of 100, whether accurate or not, would include victims reporting both recent/current experiences and those who may have experienced victimizations long before coming to FSU but are triggered by something and want to talk. We are unaware of the Victim Advocate Program tracking cases to differentiate between these two very different circumstances, nor do they track cases by student-athlete status, much less individual sports. As such, it is difficult to see how such an estimate can be accurately made by Ms. Ashton or anyone, much less verified."
Ashton was also asked about Bonasorte, who she confirmed has served as an advisor for students accused of misconduct going through the student rights and responsibilities process. Asked her sense of Bonasorte's reputation on campus, Ashton said, "I believe that he has a reputation that — he's associated with athletes that are in trouble. That's my knowledge."
Ashton affirmed that she is concerned that athletes at Florida State get preferential treatment in school investigations of misconduct, noting that she believes Bonasorte "is kind of the connection maybe to help facilitate them getting legal counsel."
Winston was not charged criminally and was not found responsible for violating the school conduct code following a school hearing in December 2014. Kinsman filed a lawsuit against him in April, and Winston countersued. That case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
Kinsman first filed the lawsuit against FSU in January. The case was transferred to U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida in April.
FSU last month filed a motion seeking a protective order to prevent the release of the depositions in the lawsuit. Judge Mark E. Walker granted that motion in part on Oct. 30, preventing video tapes of the depositions from being released.
A jury trial is scheduled for September. In a joint motion to amend the schedule filed earlier this month, attorneys for Kinsman and FSU noted "the parties are also engaged in substantiative negotiations." They were scheduled to participate in mediation on Tuesday.
