Maybe Treon Harris is innocent of sexual assault. Maybe he is guilty. It's not a good idea to rush to judgment in either scenario, but this much is true:
Why does this keep happening? Harris is now the second quarterback at a prominent state school whose resume will be tainted with sexual assault allegations. Jameis Winston seems to have weather the storm in Tallahassee, although the school is now conducting an investigation into an alleged incident that happened in December 2012.
It continues to be a nasty mess, with contradictory allegations from attorneys. Winston is under investigation by FSU for a possible student code of conduct violation. The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights is also looking into the matter.
Legal clarity is important in this case, but the question remains:
What took them so long?
At least Florida -- unlike FSU -- responded quickly and decisively by indefinitely suspending Harris. Is that unfair to him if he is found innocent? Of course it is. But imagine if it goes the other way.
'We have no tolerance for sexual assault on our campus,' UF president Bernie Machen said in a statement. 'The university is committed to providing a safe and inclusive environment for every member of the UF community. We must strive to protect all of our students from sexual harassment and assault, and do everything in our power to promote a safe learning environment.'
Florida did the right thing here. It was the only thing to do.
Florida loses a starting quarterback for an indefinite period of time, starting with a critical game against LSU. But let's not focus too much on the game here.
A sexual assault allegation is a game-changer for anyone, including star athletes.
This will go one of two ways for Harris.
The worst case scenario does not involve the Florida Gators losing some football games.
George Diaz can be reached at gdiaz@orlandosentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @georgediaz
Posted by Unknown on Monday, October 6, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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