Though Ray Rice has been removed from professional football, perhaps, for good, his case has stirred anger among those concerned that professional athletes are given vast leeway to act illegally with impunity.
Over the weekend, however, the New York Times unveiled a disturbing and ongoing pattern in Tallahassee, the home of Florida State University, suggesting that conduct may extend to the college ranks as well and with police support to boot. The Times reported that over an extended period, local police have backed away from pursuing allegations of wrongdoing against Seminole players.
The list of potential, but ultimately ignored crimes that were documented by the Times included motor vehicle theft, criminal mischief and domestic violence. Indeed, the rather lengthy piece begins with the story of a 911 call from last January in which a caller reported that a man was punching a woman attempting to leave an apartment with a baby in tow. By the time police arrived, the Times reported, the couple was back in the apartment. The woman acknowledged that an argument had taken place, but said nothing physical happened.
The Times reported that Tallahassee police did none of the things that officers responding to a domestic violence call are supposed to do, including take statements and forward their report to a local domestic abuse crisis center. Instead, they passed their brief report onto a sergeant, who filed the complaint as unfounded. The Times story strongly suggested that the inaction on the case took place largely because the unidentified man involved plays football at Florida State and because the sergeant is a Seminole fan.
In another case, Bobo Wilson, an FSU wide receiver, was stopped by Tallahassee police in June while riding a stolen motor scooter. Wilson said he borrowed the scooter from a student, but could not give the student’s last name. The Times noted that the investigating officer noted in a report that Wilson was a Seminole player and wrote that Wilson was not arrested because he cooperated, showed no signs of guilt and provided quote a plausible story that needs to be investigated unquote. According to the Times’ story, the officer met the scooter’s owner in a parking lot at night and questioned if the owner was "mentally stable," or had forgotten that he lent Wilson the scooter. The officer told the scooter owner that he had not arrested Wilson because he is a football player and that he didn’t want to ruin Wilson’s record if there was a possibility that he didn’t do it. The accuser’s attorney has complained that area officials seemed more interested in protecting Winston’s reputation than investigating a potential crime. Winston went on to win the Heisman Trophy and to lead Florida State to a national championship.
And, of course, Tallahassee police officials are already facing scrutiny over their handling of rape allegations against quarterback Jameis Winston made last year.
In fairness, the scene portrayed by the Times is hardly unique to Tallahassee or to FSU. And that notion alone should send a chill through the ranks of caring sports fans all over the country.