Report: Buccaneers' Jameis Winston reaches settlement with Uber driver
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston has reached a settlement with the woman who accused him of grabbing her between the legs in 2016.
Winston was suspended for the first three games of this season because of the incident.
Court documents filed
The Tampa Bay Times reported on Tuesday that the woman’s attorney had filed court documents on Monday showing that the victim had “reached an agreement” to settle the case with Winston.
The filing says the two sides will need 10 days to finalize the agreement. While the details of the settlement are not included in the documents, the woman sued Winston in September. Her suit sought roughly $75,000.
Uber driver stepped forward last year
The woman, identified as Kate P. in court documents, stepped forward last November, in an interview with BuzzFeed, and the media outlet reported at the same time that the league had opened its investigation into Winston and the incident.
Kate was working as an Uber driver in Scottsdale, Arizona, and in the early hours of March 13, 2016 she was called to pick up a fare. A group of men excitedly told her that she would be driving someone famous, and put Winston in the front passenger’s seat.
Kate said Winston began behaving badly almost immediately, shouting homophobic slurs at pedestrians, and then asked her to take him for food.
It was in the drive-thru line at Los Betos Mexican Food that she said Winston “just reached over and he grabbed my crotch” and kept his hand there for three to five seconds. After she looked at him in shock and said, “What’s up with that?,” he moved his hand.
Kate reported the incident immediately to Uber, writing “he is NOT safe for other drivers.”
After telling BuzzFeed last year that she didn’t want money, but rather felt empowered to speak out about what had happened to her after seeing other women and men tell stories about what famous individuals had done to them, she changed her mind after seeing Winston’s reaction to the situation.
Her attorney, John Clune, told the Tampa Bay Times in September, “She is unimpressed by his continued lack of honesty or awareness into his behavior. Maybe a more direct financial penalty will get his attention. He needs to learn from this and have some genuine insight or pay the penalty.
“She knows that she might be just a speed bump for him in his football career, but she is not going to be a small one.”
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