Chris Rainey avoided prosecution despite being named a suspect in five crimes while he was at Florida. (AP photo)
An "Outside the Lines" report has found that football players and men's basketball players at Florida and Florida State "avoided criminal charges or prosecution on average two-thirds of the time when named as suspects in police documents."
Using former Florida running back Chris Rainey as a named example, the report found that number far exceeded “that of non-athlete males in the same age range.”
The article states:
"But available reports showed that Rainey's alma mater, Florida, had the most athletes — 80 — named as suspects in more than 100 crimes at Florida. Yet the athletes either never faced charges, had charges against them dropped or were not prosecuted 56 percent of the time.
"When 'Outside the Lines' examined a comparison set of cases involving college-age males in Gainesville, 28 percent of the crimes ended either without a record of charges being filed or by charges eventually being dropped."
“Outside the Lines” compared the reports from 10 athletic programs — Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Michigan State, Missouri, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Texas A&M and Wisconsin — but some police departments withheld records and ESPN is suing Notre Dame and Michigan State for not releasing the information.
"Florida State had the second-highest number of athletes named in criminal allegations: 66 men's basketball and football athletes. In 70 percent of those incidents, the athletes either never faced charges, had charges against them dropped or were not prosecuted. By comparison, cases ended up without being prosecuted 50 percent of the time among a sample of crimes involving college-age males in Tallahassee."
Rainey never faced criminal charges despite being suspect in five crimes while he was at Florida.
