Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston is the latest high profile celebrity to be accused of sexual assault. Winston is accused of grabbing a female Uber driver's crotch in 2016, and the NFL is now investigating the claims.
The woman says she filed a complaint with Uber after the alleged incident occurred, but did not go to police because she feared backlash from NFL fans. According to the report, the driver, identified as Kate, says she picked up Winston and some friends in Scottsdale, Arizona at around 2am in March of 2016, and the Bucs QB hopped in the front seat. He was allegedly shouting homophobic slurs at pedestrians before he requested to stop at a drive thru.
According to Buzzfeed, while waiting in line at the drive-thru of Los Betos Mexican Food, Jameis allegedly reached over, grabbed the driver's crotch and held his hand there for three to five seconds and removed it only after she looked up in shock and said, “What’s up with that?”
“I wasn't just creeped out. I was frozen.” She described Winston as “very physically imposing.”
“I mean he's an NFL quarterback and I’m 5 ft 6. I’m not prepared for that. So I completely froze.”
BuzzFeed News viewed a letter it said was sent from league executive Lisa Friel to the Uber driver, which read,
"The League has been informed that you may have been the victim of such a violation perpetrated by Tampa Bay Buccaneers player Jameis Winston," Friel wrote in the letter. "The league takes allegations of this nature very seriously and has opened an investigation into this matter."
Uber reportedly banned Jameis Winston from using the app in the future, though his camp has vehemently denied the claims.
Winston’s representative, Russ Spielman, issued the following statement, "We categorically deny this allegation. It is our understanding the Uber driver was unable to identify the specific individual who allegedly touched this driver inappropriately. The only reason his name is being dragged in to this is that his Uber account was used to call the ride."