'OTL' investigation: Florida, Florida State athletes accused of crimes rarely face prosecution

An investigation by ESPN's "Outside the Lines" has substantiated a long-held assumption about major college sports programs: male athletes accused of crimes avoid charges or prosecution at a far higher rate than college-age non-athletes due to preferential treatment and a confluence of factors.

The investigation sought police reports involving men's football and basketball athletes at 10 major programs - Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Michigan State, Missouri, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Texas A&M, and Wisconsin - from 2009 to 2014.

Available reports showed athletes benefited from preferential treatment by police, better access to legal services, interference on the part of school administrators, and intimidation of witnesses, to avoid prosecution when accused of crimes.

Florida and Florida State led the way, with athletes at the two schools avoiding criminal charges or prosecution two-thirds of the time on average when named as suspects by police, a rate far higher than non-athletes of the same age.

The full text of the extensive investigation is available on ESPN.com.