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Uber driver ‘glad’ NFL suspended Jameis Winston

Unnamed woman says she hopes NFL sanctions will encourage other victims to come forward.
 
Published June 29, 2018|Updated June 30, 2018

One day after Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston was suspended three games, the female Uber driver who accused him of groping her made her first comments in response to the league's ruling.

"I am glad to see the NFL discipline Jameis Winston," she said in a statement released Friday through her attorney. "I do appreciate his apology, even if it needs some work."

A seven-month NFL investigation determined that the driver's allegations from the March 2016 incident in Scottsdale, Ariz., were "consistent and credible" and that Winston violated the league's personal conduct policy "by touching the driver in an inappropriate and sexual manner without consent."

The woman, only identified as "Kate" in the report, thanked the NFL for a "professional and thorough" investigation and said she hopes her story helps others feel comfortable coming forward.

"My experience should highlight the importance of believing women when they have the courage to come forward about sexual assault," she said. "Perhaps that night could have been prevented if others had been believed before me."

In closing, the driver referenced Winston's comments to girls at St. Petersburg's Melrose Elementary School last year that they were "supposed to be silent, polite, gentle," then she added the hashtag for the movement that prompted her to speak up.

"Mr. Winston once said, 'Girls should be silent, polite, and gentle,' " she wrote. "I disagree. #MeToo."

The woman's attorney, John Clune, also revealed new information Friday about the league's investigation that resulted in Winston's suspension to start the regular season.

Clune said the investigation found text message information that showed Ronald Darby, a teammate of Winston's at Florida State, was outside the Arizona club that night as Winston was finishing his Uber ride from the club.

That corroborates the account from former Vanderbilt player Brandon Banks, who also was with Winston and Darby that night. Banks has said through an attorney that Winston was being "unruly" at the club, so a second Uber was called to take him home, and he left in that car alone with another female driver.

Times staff writer Matt Baker contributed to this report.