TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - We're looking into the latest incident involving Deondre Francois.
The starting quarterback of the FSU football team was let go by Coach Willie Taggart over the weekend.
That was after a video surfaced on social media along with claims of domestic violence.
There are a lot of claims in that post, but no investigation by authorities that we can find.
At this point, it's still unclear when this video was actually filmed and how long it really is.
The video was posted by his girlfriend. She took down her Instagram profile, but in the post, she talked about being "silent" in a relationship with Francois that's "gotten worse."
She said she suffers from postpartum depression and lost her first child "because of all the beating."
We reached out to Refuge House, a regional resource for survivors of domestic violence.
Executive Director Meg Baldwin said when survivors share their stories, they do so in a way they think is most effective in getting the abuse to stop.
That may help explain why Francois' girlfriend didn't go to police about the incident and instead turned to social media.
"It can fill a gap that survivors haven't had access to before, which is to really make vivid the immediacy of an attack, the severity of that attack, their own reaction to it, and really be able to communicate that information in a way that's really meaningful to other people," said Baldwin.
Baldwin also said that abusers rarely change their behavior without some kind of intervention or consequence to their actions.
In this case, she said Francois getting kicked off the team could be a "useful experience" to understand the community doesn't accept his behavior.
This isn't the first time Francois has been tied to domestic violence. Last year, he called 911 during an incident between him and his girlfriend.
That case was closed after the two gave conflicting statements about what happened.
We asked city and campus police for any records involving Francois that may shed light on this latest incident.
FSU PD said it has no records related to our request.
Meanwhile, TPD says it saw the video when everyone else did, and that Francois' girlfriend hasn't come forward about the incident.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - On Sunday afternoon, Florida State and head coach Willie Taggart announced that QB Deondre Francois has been dismissed from the football team.
The announcement came after a video surfaced on social media Saturday night of an alleged domestic dispute between Francois and his girlfriend.
The school released a statement in part with the announcement,
Below is a statement from FSU head coach Willie Taggart:
"Last night, I informed Deondre Francois that he is no longer a member of the Florida State football program. As we build a new culture and foundation for FSU Football, we have high expectations for all of our student-athletes and we will not shy away from those high standards of conduct. We are moving forward as a program."
Francois started 11 games in 2018 for Florida State and 25 games total in his career.
His dismissal leaves James Blackman and transfer Jordan Travis as the only other quarterbacks heading into spring ball.
Below is a statement from FSU head coach Willie Taggart:
Last night, I informed Deondre Francois that he is no longer a member of the Florida State football program. As we build a new culture and foundation for FSU Football, we have high expectations for all of our student-athletes and we will not shy away from those high standards of conduct. We are moving forward as a program.
