It’s back to business as usual for Florida State star quarterback Jameis Winston now that he has been cleared in a sexual assault investigation. Winston, a redshirt freshman at FSU who looks to be a lock for the Heisman trophy, was first named in a sexual assault investigation almost a year ago. Florida state attorney Willie Meggs announced the decision not to charge Winston during a press conference yesterday.

“We have a duty as prosecutors to only file…charges if we have a reasonable likelihood of a conviction,” Meggs said. “We did not feel we could meet that burden.” While Winston’s DNA was found on the accuser’s shorts and underwear, DNA from another source was also found, but never identified. Meggs told reporters that it was a “logical conclusion” that the accuser had sex with more than one person on the night in question.

While some people are suspicious of the timing of the case being dropped against Winston–just days before the ACC Championship Game and a little over a week before the Heisman ceremony–Meggs promises those events have nothing to do with the case. The “timing [of the case] has not been driven by Heisman demands or a football schedule,” Meggs said. The state attorney did say that the case had taken longer to resolve than it should have because the victim wasn’t cooperative.

Jameis Winston, who has been silent about the case since it started making rounds, released a statement last night regarding the situation:

“I want to thank my family, friends, coaches and teammates for standing by me during a difficult time,” Winston said. “I also want to thank the State Attorney’s Office for examining all the facts and reaching a decision in a conclusive manner. it’s been difficult to stay silent through this process, but I never lost faith in the truth and in who I am. I’m very relieved I’ll be able to continue my education at Florida State and I’m excited I can now get back to helping our team achieve its goals.”

Even though many college football fans are thrilled that Winston was cleared in the investigation, many folks on Twitter think this is just another situation of a guy getting off scot-free because he is a popular athlete.

What do Kobe Bryant, Ben Roethlisberger, and Jameis Winston have in common? They are all very good athletes….

— Brad Mathiowetz (@Bradmathiowetz) December 6, 2013

I guess the moral of the story is that if youre really good at football all evidence of you raping someone goes out the door #JameisWinston

— Bryce (@RealBryceVogel) December 6, 2013

"rapist Jameis Winston allowed to continue making money for Florida State and the NCAA" is what the headline should really say

— anchorhead (@whiteshawnkemp) December 5, 2013

[Image via YouTube]