College Football
Bottom line: It’s not over for Winston and Fla. law
MIAMI – Jameis Winston avoided criminal charges after a woman said he sexually assaulted her. But the Florida State quarterback can’t seem to move on from the case, as a possible civil lawsuit and potential punishment from the university looms ahead.
The bottom line: It’s not over.
Legal experts said the woman has four years from the December 2012 encounter to file a lawsuit against Winston, the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner and current leader of the top-ranked and defending national-champion Seminoles. The case also could be settled out of court.
That could mean that she’ll seek a chunk of the millions of dollars he could command in a future NFL contract. Winston has made no decision about his timing on the draft but could decide to declare next year.
Winston also is being investigated by Florida State for a possible student code of conduct violation, and the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights is looking into how Florida State handles sexual assault cases.
NFL
Bears’ tweet radios change for the 2015 NFL draft
NEW YORK – The 2015 NFL draft will be held in Chicago, according to a tweet from the Bears’ organization.
The Bears posted the announcement on their Twitter account Thursday, saying: “2015 NFL Draft will be held in Chicago next April 30-May 2 at Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University.”
Moving the draft out of New York, where it has been held for decades, was likely once the league began taking bids for the event. Chicago and Los Angeles were the finalists for next year’s event.
The NFL soured on Radio City Music Hall after it was forced to move the draft back two weeks into May this year. But under Commissioner Roger Goodell, the league also has considered moving around the draft for a while.
Olympics
Does anybody want to host the 2022 Winter Games?
The Olympics that no one seems to want is down to just two candidates.
Oslo became the latest city to drop its bid for the 2022 Winter Games after the Norwegian government rejected financial backing for the project Wednesday amid concerns the games were too costly – a decision the International Olympic Committee said was based on “half-truths and factual inaccuracies.”
Oslo’s exit leaves Almaty, Kazakhstan, and Beijing as the only two contenders.
Oslo is the fourth city to pull out of a race that has been thrown into turmoil in the wake of the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, where the overall price tag was put at $51 billion, scaring off politicians and taxpayers and leaving the International Olympic Committee with a major image crisis.
Soccer
Players take their turf wars to a Canadian court
The push to get Canada to stage the Women’s World Cup on grass instead of artificial turf now is a legal matter, with American star Abby Wambach and a group of players “fully prepared to go forward zealously and aggressively in court” to force a change, their lawyer said Thursday.
The players, who have no plans to boycott next year’s tournament, allege gender discrimination because the men’s World Cup always is staged on grass. A lawsuit was filed Wednesday at the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, naming FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association as defendants.
Attorney Hampton Dellinger said real grass could be installed at the six World Cup stadiums for $2 million to $3 million. He is seeking an expedited hearing next month so that a ruling can be issued in time for the turf to be changed.
Associated Press
