Girl: Dick's catalog is sexist

McKenna Peterson, 12, received positive feedback about her letter to Dick's Sporting Goods.

• A young basketball fan wrote a letter drawing attention to ads lacking girls and women


• Her letter to Dick's Sporting Goods drew attention after her father tweeted it


• McKenna Peterson: "It's hard enough for girls to break through in this sport as it is"

(CNN) -- A 12-year-old girl from Arizona has called out Dick's Sporting Goods for failing to include female athletes in its 2014 basketball catalog -- and she's getting plenty of backup on the Web.

McKenna Peterson's letter to the company, which her father later tweeted, drew attention to the lack of gender equality in the ads.

"I think that girls should be treated as equally as boys are treated," she wrote. "I, myself, enjoying playing and watching basketball, WOMENS basketball."

The self-proclaimed "Fabulous Basketball Player" has been praised on Twitter for bringing attention to the issue.

@TheCheapSeatsTV Great job, McKenna! Thank you for standing up for us women and for what you believe in. Your move, @DICKS.

— Kelsey Perry (@kelseyperry17) October 10, 2014

Although the basketball catalog does include women, they are portrayed in passive or supportive roles: "sitting in the stands" or "mentioned once in the catalog on page 5 for some shoes" or as "cheerleaders on some coupons," McKenna wrote.

"It's hard enough for girls to break through in this sport as it is, without you guys excluding us from your catalog," she added.

The Petersons say they may take their business elsewhere unless Dick's resolves to include more women in its advertising; McKenna even named several of her favorite professional women's basketball players who would fit the bill in the letter.

My 12yr old basketball loving daughter got the latest @DICKS catalog & had a big problem with it. She wrote a letter. http://ift.tt/1w3K8KU

— ChrisPetersonTCS (@TheCheapSeatsTV) October 9, 2014

"Maybe my dad will take me to some other store that supports girls to actually PLAY basketball and follow their dreams and not sit on the sidelines and watch the game to get my next pair of shoes and equipment," McKenna wrote.

UPDATE: McKenna's father, Chris Peterson, tweeted out a response note the family received from Dick's and expressed his disappointment with the "form letter."

I guess I should check my email. A response from @DICKS #FormLetter #BrushOff #McKennasNotSatisfied http://ift.tt/1D1hhLU

— ChrisPetersonTCS (@TheCheapSeatsTV) October 9, 2014

A Dick's representative later contacted the family by phone.

"They said that they liked her letter and that in future publications they will consider putting more women in the catalog," Peterson told CNN. "They also pointed us to a commercial that they are running that apparently has a girl in it. It was a very nice conversation that McKenna re-stated her opinion that there needs to be more girls represented."

Dick's has not yet responded to requests for comment from CNN.

Opinion: Emma Watson gives feminism new life

FSU breaks silence on Winston case

• FSU issues an open letter detailing its investigation of the case


• The school says it's trying to clear up "continual" misinformation


• Winston is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in December 2012


• He denies the allegation and has not been charged

(CNN) -- Seeking to stem what it calls media "misinformation," Florida State University has broken what it calls its "deliberate silence" about the way it has dealt with sexual assault allegations that were raised against star football player Jameis Winston nearly two years ago -- allegations that he denies.

In an open letter sent Friday "to members of the Florida State University community" and the media, the university said it decided to share a time line of the case and the university's responses.

The reason for providing more detail, the letter stated, was "the continual drumbeat of misinformation about the University's actions (that) causes harm to our students, faculty, alumni, supporters and the FSU community as a whole."

The letter does not mention Winston by name, nor does it specify which facts of the case have been misrepresented in news reports. Previously, the university would not comment on the investigation, citing state and federal student privacy laws.

FSU is conducting a Title IX investigation concerning an allegation that Winston, sexually assaulted a woman in a Tallahassee bar in December 2012. The accuser reported the alleged assault to campus police that night, and a month later accused Winston of the alleged rape.

Police said the woman "broke off contact" with investigators in February 2013 and didn't want to go forward with the case. However, the Title IX investigation is required by law even if criminal charges were not filed.

Winston could be charged by his university for a code-of-conduct violation for sexual misconduct, depending upon the results of the school's investigation.

Meanwhile, Winston, aside from a one-game suspension earlier this season for yelling a sexually explicit remark near the school's student union, continues to play for the Seminoles, who are undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the polls. Winston won the Heisman Trophy, the award for college football's most outstanding player, while guiding the Seminoles to the national championship last season.

FSU shares details of Winston case

Among the main points in FSU's time line:

-- The university said the FSU athletics department learned of the allegation against Winston in January 2013. Winston came forward to the department after a Tallahassee police detective contacted him about the allegations.

-- The athletics department heard accounts from Winston and two other players who were present during the alleged encounter, and all three players said the event was consensual, the university said.

-- The university says the athletics department did not initially file a report with the school's Title IX administrator because police filed no charges, and because of the players' accounts, in which they said no sexual assault had taken place.

-- The university says it took several steps to protect the woman's identity and privacy.

-- A Title IX investigation was eventually opened after media inquiries were made into the incident, and local law enforcement had referred the case to the state attorney's office.

"The University takes sexual assault very seriously," the letter states. "The University is also cooperating fully with the U.S. Dept. of Education investigation into this matter. Indeed, it was the University that informed the DOE nearly six months ago about the Athletics Department knowledge of the case."

John Clune, an attorney for the accuser, said in a email to CNN that the "obvious news in this statement is that senior athletic department officials met with Winston and his lawyer one month after" the alleged incident, "then decided to hide it from the Title IX office."

Clune said the university's "PR team is trying to do a little preventative damage control" in anticipation of more negative media reports.

"What else can the school do wrong in this mess?" Clune said. " The whole country is moving toward improving the response to campus rape while Florida State still backpedals the other way."

FSU not alone in troubles

FSU is one of several universities under federal review for their handling of sexual violence and harassment complaints.

Roughly 150 miles away in Gainesville, University of Florida quarterback Treon Harris was briefly suspended after being accused of sexually assaulting a female student early Sunday morning in a campus residence hall.

The student who accused Treon Harris of sexual battery has withdrawn her criminal complaint, the school said. That means she is not pursuing criminal charges against him now, though she may in the future.

"We have been notified that the university and legal process is complete," head coach Will Muschamp said in a statement. "Treon has been reinstated to the team, but he will not play Saturday. This has been a learning experience for everyone involved. Treon has been honest with me throughout the process and is looking forward to rejoining his teammates."

Harris' attorney, Huntley Johnson, said his client is not guilty of a crime, according to multiple news reports.

The University of Kentucky has indefinitely suspended freshman defensive end Lloyd Tubman after he was charged with rape. The school's athletic department announced the suspension Tuesday.

Tubman pleaded not guilty Wednesday and was released on a $10,000 bond, according to The Courier-Journal newspaper in Louisville. He is due back in court later this month.

"Obviously, I'm very concerned about the allegations and all parties involved," Kentucky head football coach Mark Stoops said Tuesday. "We're working extremely hard to develop quality young men on and off the field. We will continue to cooperate with the local and campus authorities while the process takes its course."

Winston accuser did not press charges

According to police documents in the Winston case, the accuser said the athlete raped her in December 2012 after she had been drinking with friends at a bar in Tallahassee. She said an unknown man gave her a shot glass of liquid before they left the bar.

The accuser also said she did not remember much of what happened next but that she remembered being in a ground-floor apartment, where a man took off her clothes and had sex with her despite her objections, according to police documents.

The accuser reported the alleged assault to campus police that night. A month later, in January 2013, she accused Winston of the alleged rape.

Tallahassee's interim police chief at the time, Tom Coe, said the woman "broke off contact" with investigators in February 2013 and didn't want to go forward with the case. The woman's family said a detective warned her attorney that Tallahassee is a "big football town" and that life could be miserable if she pursued the case.

Tim Jansen, an attorney for Winston, said his client had consensual sex with the woman.

After Winston won the Heisman Trophy, the Seminoles went on to win the BCS National Championship against Auburn in January. Winston spent this spring playing for the Florida State baseball team, until April when he made headlines again for allegedly shoplifting crab legs from a supermarket in Tallahassee. According to police, Winston said he forgot to pay. Winston was suspended from the baseball team for four days.

As part of a civil citation for alleged shoplifting -- an alternative to criminal prosecution for first-time, nonviolent offenses in Leon County -- Winston was not arrested but was ordered to serve at least 20 hours of community service, authorities said.

Florida State initially announced Winston would be suspended for the first half of the game against Clemson after the sexual remark. However, Athletics Director Stan Wilcox increased the punishment the day before the game after hearing eyewitness accounts that differed from Winston's initial version, a source close to the situation told CNN's Rachel Nichols.

And they're off... Volvo Ocean Race starts

A CROWD of thousands lined the seafront of Alicante to see the start of the Volvo Ocean Race.

The seven yachts taking part set off this afternoon (October 11) on the first leg of the round the world race that has captured the public's imagination.

The yachts – including one with an all-woman crew- have set off on the 6,000 nautical mile first leg to Cape Town in South Africa.

It is the third race in a row ( it is held every three years) that the teams have started from the Costa Blanca city. In a previous guise as the Whitbread Round the World RaceBritain had a monopoly on the race start with Portsmouth and Southampton being the starting points.

The race started with the boats gathering in front of the Playa del Postiguet. Team Brunei made the best start – but with a round the world trip in prospect it is more important for morale than actual times.

The Spanish crowds, swelled by the ranks of visitors from abroad, gave the teams a great send-off. “The number of people here today is incredible,” said Iker Martinez, Skipper of Spanish boat Mapfre.

The race which is over 35,000 miles long should take about nine months to complete.

Queen honors Angelina Jolie

• Jolie is recognized for her campaign to end war-zone sexual violence


• She is made Honorary Dame Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George


• Jolie, 39, co-founded the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative

(CNN) -- Britain's Queen Elizabeth II on Friday made Hollywood star Angelina Jolie an honorary dame for her campaign to end the scourge of sexual violence in war zones.

In a ceremony at Buckingham Palace, Jolie was presented with the Insignia of an Honorary Dame Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George.

Jolie, 39, is a special envoy to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, and she co-founded the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative with former British Foreign Secretary William Hague.

"It is a myth that rape is an inevitable part of conflict," Jolie said in June during the London opening of the biggest summit of its kind aimed at ending sexual violence in conflict. "There's nothing inevitable about it. It is a weapon of war aimed at civilians. It has nothing to do with sex, everything to do with power."

On Friday, October 10, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II made Angelina Jolie an honorary dame for her work to root out sexual violence in war zones. While Jolie is now known for her humanitarian works and action movies, she has been in the spotlight since she was a child. Here's a look at her life.

Jolie hugs her father, actor Jon Voight, in Los Angeles in 1980. Her brother, James, is at left.

Jolie, then 15, poses for a photo in January 1991.

Jolie and Voight are seen in an undated photo.

Jolie attends an event in New York City, circa 1998.

Jolie appears at the Golden Globe Awards in January 2000. She won best supporting actress for her role in the film "Girl, Interrupted."

Jolie and her husband at the time, Billy Bob Thornton, appear at the premiere of her film "Gone in 60 Seconds" in June 2000. They divorced in 2003.

Jolie and her mother, actress Marcheline Bertrand, are photographed at the premiere of Jolie's film "Original Sin" in July 2001. Bertrand died of ovarian cancer in January 2007.

Jolie distributes balls to children at the Tham Hin refugee camp, on the Thailand-Myanmar border, in May 2002. She was a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees before she became a special envoy for the agency in 2012.

Jolie carries her son Maddox at the world premiere of "Shark Tale" in September 2004.

Jolie appears on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" in March 2004.

Jolie attends the German premiere of "Alexander" in December 2004.

As part of her role as goodwill ambassador, Jolie speaks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in Islamabad, Pakistan, in May 2005.

Producer Arnon Milchan centers Jolie and Pitt at the premiere of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" in June 2005.

Jolie and Pitt appear at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2008.

Jolie greets fans at the Russian premiere of her film "Salt" in July 2010.

Jolie walks with four of her children -- from left, Maddox, Zahara, Pax and Shiloh -- at Japan's Narita International Airport in July 2010.

Jolie appears at the Golden Globe Awards in January 2011.

Jolie and Pitt appear at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in January 2012.

Jolie meets Syrian refugees in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley in September 2012.

Jolie appears at an April 2013 news conference in London about sexual violence against women in conflict.

In May 2013, Jolie announced in a New York Times op-ed that she underwent a preventive double mastectomy after learning that she carries a mutation of the BRCA1 gene, which sharply increases her risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. Here, in June 2013, she makes her first red carpet appearance since the surgery, attending the London premiere of Pitt's movie "World War Z."

Jolie accepts the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in November, during the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Governors Awards ceremony.

In the 2014 film "Maleficent," Jolie plays an evil sorceress who tells her side of the story. The movie opened at No. 1 and earned $69.4 million in its first weekend in U.S. theaters.

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Photos: Life of Angelina Jolie

The Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, hosted by the UK government, brought together representatives of more than 100 countries, as well as hundreds more experts, survivors, faith leaders, and staffers from NGOs and international organizations.

According to UNICEF, the United Nations children's agency, more than 150 million young girls and 73 million boys experience sexual violence every year, and children in conflict-affected countries are the most vulnerable.

Few perpetrators are ever prosecuted or convicted.

CNN's Max Foster contributed to this report.