Heather Cox defended her postgame interview with Jameis Winston to Richard Deitsch at SI.com.

Deitsch writes:

Cox said that in the days prior to the broadcast, she and a group of ESPN colleagues (including management) discussed the possibility of a Winston postgame interview. They spoke about how the broadcast would handle questions, especially if Winston had yet to speak out publicly. “I certainly knew if we talked to him I needed to ask questions about the [alleged sexual assault] investigation,” Cox said. “I had thought through the way I wanted to handle it and presented the questions to our team. We all decided it was the correct way to handle it. It was not an issue of me going rogue and deciding last-minute that I would ambush him.

Cox said that ESPN asked and received permission from FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher and two football sports information directors regarding asking Winston questions about the investigation. Cox did not forward her questions, nor did FSU officials ask for any questions, according to Cox.

“They were fully aware that I was going to ask about the investigation,” Cox said. “I was never once asked not to ask about the investigation and if I had been asked not to ask those questions, I would have declined to do the interview because I would not have been able to do my job. I think a lot of people out there think I ambushed him (Winston) and went against Coach Fisher and the Florida State PR group, and that is not at all the case. They were fully aware of my intent to ask questions about the investigation.”

Then there was this:

Cox added that had she been afforded the opportunity to ask her final question, it was going to be about Winston’s upcoming month, including the Heisman Trophy show and other awards. She said she then planned to talk to Fisher and do nothing but a game-related interview with him. Cox said she wanted people to know that Winston did not turn around and walk away. “He was pulled away,” Cox said.

As opposed to others, I did not have a problem with Cox asking Winston about the investigation. She would have been vilified if she didn’t.

Cox got in three questions about the case, and Winston answered. For a postgame, on-the-field interview, that’s pretty good. And it should have been enough, given the setting minutes after a game.

However, where Cox got into trouble was when she attempted to ask a fourth question. She stepped over the line. At that point, it looked like she was badgering him.

As a result, Cox helped turn Winston into a sympathetic figure. She also became part of the story. It wasn’t her intention on either front.

The response on my Twitter feed yesterday was overwhelmingly against Cox.