Jameis Winston says sexual assault allegations against him are ‘false’

Jameis Winston has responded to the sexual assault allegations against him that came to light on Friday, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback says he has been wrongly accused.

In a statement, Winston said the claim that he put his hand on a female Uber driver’s crotch without consent is “false.”

“A news organization has published a story about me regarding an alleged incident involving a female Uber driver from approximately two years ago. The story falsely accuses me of making inappropriate contact with this driver,” Winston said, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. “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 allegation and increased awareness and consideration of these types of matters, I am addressing this false report immediately. At the time of the alleged incident, I denied the allegations to Uber, yet they still decided to suspend my account.”

The Uber driver said Winston was the only person in her car at the time, but Winston seems to be refuting that. Winston’s agent said previously that the driver was unable to identify the specific individual who inappropriately touched her and only named Winston because the account belonged to him.

You can read more details of the alleged incident here, but the driver did not seem uncertain that it was Winston who assaulted her. The NFL is investigating the incident, and the Bucs said Friday that they are also in the process of obtaining information.

Bucs statement on the Winston matter pic.twitter.com/FOPBHWCLda

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) November 17, 2017