BREAKING: Rape Charges On FIU Star Dropped

According to WSVN-TV in Miami, the rape charges that were brought on Florida International University hitting star Garrett Wittels will have been dropped when Bahamian officials sign off on the idea no later than Monday...

Wittels and two friends were in the Bahamas last December celebrating the 21st birthday of David Shapiro at a casino. Wittels and his defense team have always maintained that the surveillance tape from the casino would exonerate him and portray two 17-year-old women from Texas as the aggressors in the case.

Prosecutors have not found sufficient evidence to proceed with the case.

The Miami Herald's Siobhan Morrissey has a vital play-by-play of the evening hyah...

From the Herald article:

There is no dispute that sex occurred in the room. The teens say they were roughed up and sexually assaulted as they lapsed into and out of consciousness. The accused say the girls were willing sex partners.

They were there for about an hour, the girls say, before they were ordered to leave. “We got out of the room and someone threw out our items — my purse, my sweater, and [my girlfriend’s] clothing,’’ the girl in the black dress said in her police statement.

The next morning, around 10, the girl in the black dress told her father she had been raped. He called security. Security called police. They picked out Wittels and his four friends from a photo lineup, although just three of them were present in the room.

Those three that were charged will now have those charges dropped...

Here's video from FIU Media Day where it was announced Wittels was clear to play...
((HT: MiamiHerald))

BREAKING: So Much For That... Wittels Streak Ends At 56

The FIU shortstop went 0 for 4 against Southeastern Louisiana leaving him two games short of matching Robin Ventura's 58-game Division I record set back in 1987.

His streak goes down as the third-longest in collegiate baseball history. Damian Costantino of Division III Salve Regina had a 60-game streak from 2001-03- that is the the NCAA mark regardless of classification.

Southeastern Louisiana won the game 10-2 in the season opener for both.

Wittels' best chance for a hit came in the eighth inning, but his grounder to third was grabbed by Jonathan Pace.

Here's Wittels' presser before the SELa game where the school said he was cleared to play with the Bahamian charges hanging over his head...

((HT: MiamiHerald))


More when we know more...

What to do with Garrett Wittels: A conundrum....

Garrett Wittels/Courtesy: baseballrumormill.com

This is a really interesting story that poses a lot of questions and may make a statement about the place of sports in real life.

We've reported a few times last year about Florida International University baseball player Garrett Wittels. Wittles, gained notoriety last season with what is now a 56-game hitting streak, just short of the NCAA record held by Robin Ventura of 58.

Here's the problem. Wittels was charged with rape in a December incident that happened in the Bahamas. You can read our original report on the incident RIGHT HERE.

The case has yet to go to trial.

FIU kicks off the 2011 Baseball season on Friday. And our friends at ESPN will be there to cover it. To see if Wittels can break the record.

FIU, for their part, is making Wittels and others from the team available to the Media on Wednesday...with a caveat.

FIU is on record saying that anyone that asks about the Bahamas incident will end the presser and have their credentials revoked.

Read more from the Miami Herald RIGHT HERE

OK. We have a major problem with this on several levels. First off, if this were a football player with legal issues, he wouldn't be playing. FIU says they are following their "Student Code of Conduct". Quite honestly, we don't believe that....for a minute.

Second. FIU is threatening reporters that ask the question they don't want asked. No, that isn't how it works. You don't have to like or agree with or even answer the question if its asked, but threatening...no, FIU--you aren't big time enough to get away with that. However, we suspect the Sports writers/reporters there, won't ask.

It sure smells a lot like they are making every attempt to get publicity at the expense of Mr. Wittels. While he certainly hasn't been proven guilty of any crime here, the fact that he's been charged should be enough to keep him out. It wouldn't affect his chase of the record. No, we would be willing to bet that the sole and only reason that he'll play is the investment a certain network is making to broadcast the next three FIU games.

Check out this mini-doc the University commissioned on "The Streak":