Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston will be required to attend a disciplinary hearing to determine if he violated any code of conduct regulations at the university. The hearing will focus on Winston’s involvement in an alleged sexual assault in December 2012. Winston was informed of the hearing notice in a letter Friday, and he could be charged with any one of four potential violations of the code of conduct.
An attorney representing Winston’s accuser confirmed the news Friday night to USA Today and ESPN in separate reports. Winston has five school days to notify the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities to schedule an information hearing. At that time, Winston will be informed of his rights for the hearing. The exact date of the actual hearing is to be determined, but is supposed to be scheduled as quickly as possible.
The hearing will be conducted by a neutral third-party. Winston and his accuser will have an opportunity to strike one of three witnesses gathered by Florida State rom the hearing process. If found guilty of any violations of the code of conduct, Winston cold face anything from a verbal reprimand to expulsion from the university.
This has been a busy day for news related to Winston and Florida State. Earlier on Friday, the university released a letter outlining its timeline of events related to the investigation to Winston and the alleged sexual assault. That was later followed by investigative reports by FOX Sports and the New York Times. Those reports outlined the relationship between officials at the university and local police and how local police have handled this and other incidents involving Florida State football players.
As it stands right now, purely from a trivial football standpoint, Winston remains an eligible football player for the Seminoles. Florida State is on the road this weekend at Syracuse. Winston was suspended for one game earlier this season for a separate incident, and at this time there is no word on any additional suspension while this hearing process plays out. He is expected to play this weekend, as of the time of this posting.
Florida State plays at Syracuse on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. eastern.