After a botched police investigation, obfuscation from high-ranking school officials including head coach Jimbo Fisher, and a sham conduct hearing, Florida State has settled its Title IX case with Erica Kinsman, a former student who accused Jameis Winston of raping her after meeting her at a local bar on December 6, 2012. The terms of the settlement include payment for Kinsman's attorney's fees, a five year commitment to promoting awareness and prevention programs, as well as a requirement to "publish annual reports of its programs for the next five years" whatever that means.FSU did not admit to any wrongdoing in the settlement; as these things so often go, president John Thrasher said the settlement was made merely to avoid further litigation costs.
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Despite total confidence in their position, Florida State paid Kinsman the largest settlement ever for a Title IX indifference to student sexual assault claim. The settlement will not affect the Department of Education's Title iX investigation into the matter, nor will it impact Klinsman's civil suit against Winston in federal court in the Middle District of Florida.[USA Today]"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…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."