Jameis Winston Denial Includes Implication of Another Passenger

Jameis Winston is under NFL investigation after allegations of groping a female Uber driver in 2016 have emerged in a story by Buzzfeed. In the statement that he released in response to the story, which we will run in full at the bottom of the post, this segment sticks out: “The story falsely accuses me of making inappropriate contact with the driver. I believe the driver was confused as to the number of passengers in the car and who was sitting next to her.”

These tweets from NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport would seem to be a confirmation of that purported ambiguity:

The article from @BuzzFeed alleges Jameis Winston was the only passenger in the car. Winston and his reps say no. I listened to the original voicemail from “Chris” from Uber stating “you or someone else in your vehicle" engaged in inappropriate behavior.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 17, 2017

The voicemail to #Bucs QB Jameis Winston from a person IDing himself as Chris from the Uber office — which I have listened to — is one reason Winston’s reps show multiple people were in the car. There is no known video of the incident
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 17, 2017

It remains to be seen how the NFL’s investigation will proceed. Winston may be under a microscope because of the prior sexual assault allegations that he faced, but was not ultimately convicted for, at Florida State.

Here is Winston’s full statement: