Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 11-21-17

Sports
All-Pro Cornerback Was In Uber Car With Jameis Winston And Says They Were In The Backseat
JAMEIS WINSTON AND RONALD DARBY
USF Player Arrested For Sexual Battery
Kevaughn Dingle was a sought after high school re- cruit.
A University of South Florida football player was ar- rested and charged with sexual battery after an on-campus in- cident Thursday.
Kevaughn Dingle, 18, re- portedly knew the victim, whom he assaulted in the Holly C residence hall, according to a press release from USF police.
Police said around 1 a.m. Friday the alleged victim re- ported the crime to them.
"She said he committed acts against her will, we investi- gated, we took evidence and he admitted to it," Captain Meg Ross with USF Police said.
Dingle, a freshman wide receiver, was charged with one count of sexual battery and was taken to Hillsborough County central booking facilities.
The high school standout from Miami was a sought-after recruit who received scholar- ship offers from more than 20 schools.
Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals Close On 1-Year Extension
LARRY FITZGERALD
Future Hall Of Famer Larry Fitzgerald may not be ready to call it a career just yet.
Pro Football Talk reported on Thursday that the Arizona Cardinals and Fitzgerald are close to a one-year contract ex- tension that would run through 2018.
Much like Carson Palmer, Fitzgerald has been contemplating retirement for a few years. Even though he’s 34 and has been in the league since 2004, he’s still been a bright spot for the Cardinals. He’s posted consecutive 100- plus reception, 1,000-yard sea- sons.
This season Fitzgerald has 60 catches for 677 yards and three touchdowns while catch- ing passes from Palmer and Drew Stanton.
No. 20 USF Stays In Position For Division Title With Win Over Tulsa
South Florida quarterback Quinton Flowers (9) passes under pressure from Tulsa's Garrett Flanary (55) during the first half.
Philadelphia Eagles corner- back Ronald Darby says he witnessed the events from nearly two years ago that re- sulted in James Winston being accused of groping an Uber driver.
“I felt the need to come for- ward and clarify some inaccu- rate accounts of the evening of March 13, 2016 when myself, a friend and Jameis took an Uber ride in Arizona,” Darby said in a statement issued.
“There were three of us in the car, not just one as has been reported. Myself and Jameis were in the backseat. I am confident that nothing in- appropriate in nature hap- pened in the car that evening and Jameis did not have any physical contact with the Uber driver. The accusations are just not true.”
The Uber driver claims that Winston was in the front seat. Uber deactivated Win- ston’s account, since Win- ston’s account was the one that was used to order the ride. Prior to Darby speaking up, the NFL issued a statement that they now have an active investigation going against Winston for allegedly grop-
ing the Uber driver.
A letter was sent from the
NFL’s special counsel for in- vestigations to the Uber driver on Thursday. “The League has been informed that you may have been the victim of such a violation perpetrated by Tampa Bay Buccaneers player Jameis Winston. The league takes allegations of this nature very seriously and has opened an investigation into this mat- ter,” the letter read.
The driver alleges that Winston grabbed her crotch while they were waiting at a drive-through, and didn’t re- move it until she spoke up. The driver also claims he shouted homophobic slurs from the vehicle.
Winston’s representative, Russ Spielman, denied the allegation on behalf of the Buc- caneers quarterback, claiming that the driver was unable to
identify the “specific individ- ual” who grabbed her crotch. Spielman did admit that it was Winston’s Uber account that was used for the ride.
”We categorically deny this allegation. It is our under- standing the Uber driver was unable to identify the specific individual who allegedly touched her inappropriately. The only reason his name is being dragged in to this is that his Uber account was used to call the ride."
The driver reported the in- cident to Uber, though she did not go to the police or consent to having her full name pub- lished in fear of backlash from football fans. Uber perma- nently banned Winston from their platform in response to the incident.
Winston released a state- ment denying the allegations:
"A news organization (Buz- zfeed) has published a story about me regarding an alleged incident involving a female Uber driver from approxi- mately two years ago. The story falsely accuses me of making inappropriate contact with this driver. I believe the driver was confused as to the number of passengers in the car and who was sitting next to her. The accusation is false, and given the nature of the al- legation and increased aware- ness and consideration of these types of matters, I am address- ing this false report immedi- ately.
At the time of the alleged incident, I denied the allega- tions to Uber, yet they still de- cided to suspend my account.
I am supportive of the na- tional movement to raise awareness and develop better responses to the concerns of parties who find themselves in these types of situations, but this accusation is false. While I am certain that I did not make any inappropriate contact, I don’t want to engage in a bat- tle with the driver and I regret if my demeanor or presence made her uncomfortable in any way.”
No. 20 South Florida and USF coach Charlie Strong can finally look ahead to a much-anticipated showdown with No. 12 Central Florida.
Quinton Flowers threw two touchdown passes and the Bulls remained in contention for a berth in the American Athletic Conference champi- onship game by holding off Tulsa 27-20 on Thursday night.
Flowers, one of the na- tion’s top dual-threat quarter- backs, ran for 119 yards while also throwing for 142 to send USF (9-1, 6-1) into next week’s regular-season finale against unbeaten UCF with the league’s East Division title on the line.
“We’ve got one more,” coach Strong said. “Our guys understand what’s at stake.”
cautioned his players about not looking past Tulsa (2-9, 1- 6), which has lost four straight since beating Houston, the only team that’s beaten USF.
“Everybody thinks because of their record that they’re not very good,” Strong said. “They beat Houston and Hous- ton beat us. ... You have to give them some credit.”
Flowers and USF’s high- powered offense weren’t as sharp as usual, however first- quarter TD throws of 25 yards to Tyre McCants and 35 yards to Darnell Salomon helped USF to an early 21-7 lead.
Luke Skipper scored on first-half runs of 12 and 9 yards for Tulsa (2-9, 1-6), which blocked a punt to set up a 38- yard field goal that trimmed a 10-point deficit to 27-20 with 4:18 remaining.
Coming off a bye, Strong
Floyd Mayweather Mourns
The Death Of His Legendary
Cutman On Instagram
The boxing world awoke to some heartbreaking news: That legendary cutman Rafael Garcia has passed awayattheageof88dueto complications from Leukemia.
Garcia’s health began to decline earlier this year after he was stung more than 100 times by a swarm of African- ized bees, according to former welterweight and junior wel- terweight world titleholder Jessie Vargas, who was Garcia’s godson. Garcia later had a heart attack and was diagnosed with leukemia only about two weeks ago.
There was an outpouring
FLOYD MAYWEATHER
of support following the news, and among those leading the way was Floyd May- weather. In an understated and pointed video, he shared a series of pictures of the two throughout their career, with the caption: “RIP Grand Dad. I will always love you.”
PAGE 14 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2017