In January, Jameis Winston led Florida State University to its third NCAA National Championship and its first since 1999. Winston dominated the 2013 season, as he threw for 4,057 yards, 40 passing touchdown and 10 interceptions, while rushing for 219 yards and four touchdowns en route to the Heisman Trophy.
He defeated fellow nominees University of Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron, Northern Illinois University quarterback Jordan Lynch, Boston College running back Andre Williams and Texas A&M University quarterback (and previous Heisman winner) Johnny Manziel.
Aside from football, Winston plays baseball for the Seminoles. He put up very respectable numbers his freshman year as both an outfielder and a pitcher. He batted .235 with a .377 on-base percentage in 119 at-bats, and he held a 3.00 ERA in 27 innings pitched. Also, Baseball America named him a preseason All-American as a third-team utility player. His pitching stats from the 2014 season are even better — he posted a 1.08 ERA and 31 strikeouts through 33.1 innings while compiling seven saves.
Since his stellar freshman year for Seminole Athletics, Winston has remained in the headlines. Now though, his news stories no longer praise his physical prowess. Rather, they condemn his displeasing, off-the-field conduct.
First, Winston has a history of shoplifting. In July 2013, according to police reports, Winston stole soda from a Burger King restaurant near Florida State’s campus. During a phone call with a non-emergency police hotline, a Burger King employee explained that Winston was filling ketchup cups with soda without paying for it. Burger King did not press charges as a result of the incident.
In April 2014, surveillance footage at Tallahassee Publix Super Market clearly shows Winston casually strolling out of the store with a collection of unpaid crab legs and crawfish. Winston admitted to the crime and, as a result, was ordered to several hours of community service.
Further, Winston was suspended from the first half of Florida State’s game against Clemson University on Sept. 20 because he reportedly shouted an obscenity at FSU’s student union from atop a table.
Recently, Winston had come under fire for signing autographs for money. James Spence Authentication, the same company that certified over 500 autographs from Georgia University runningback Todd Gurley (who has been suspended indefinitely by his school), authenticated over 900 items signed by Jameis Winston.
While the above crimes are relatively minor, and some even comical, Winston was accused of sexual assault in December 2012, and the state attorney’s office opened an investigation into the complaint in November 2013. Winston will face a disciplinary hearing after this weekend’s game against the University of Notre Dame. According to ESPN, he could face up to four charges of breaking FSU’s Student Code Conduct. Of those four charges, two could involve sexual assault. Possible consequences include suspension or expulsion.
Winston’s draft stock has understandably plummeted since his Heisman season. According to a report from Fox Sports, NFL general managers are losing interest in Winston rapidly due to his behavior away from the field.
Michael McCann of Sports Illustrated wrote this weekend that Winston’s “best legal move” might be dropping out of Florida State University.
“Winston could still face criminal charges until 2017,” McCann said.
Additionally, if Winston withdrew from FSU, he would exit the school’s jurisdiction and would not be required to participate in a university-run disciplinary hearing.
Despite the accusations to his star quarterback, FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher remains confident that Winston will not miss a game this season.
“There is no victim because there was no crime,” Fisher said in an interview with Sports Illustrated published Sunday. “This country is based on innocent until proven guilty. Not guilty until proven innocent,” he explained, criticizing the media for defiling Winston’s public image.
Coach Fisher is completely correct. The media has tarnished Winston’s image. Winston, though, continues to feed the media ammunition. NCAA Bylaw 12.5.2.1 clearly states that “accepting money for promoting or advertising the commercial sale of a product or service” is prohibited. Though Winston’s shoplifting crimes are petty and insignificant, they have hindered his public perception.
The most serious problem Winston faces is clearly his accusation of sexual assault. NFL teams have held a no-nonsense abuse policy since the beginning of this year, after disturbing surveillance footage of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice ruthlessly hitting his fiancée surfaced.
Since then, teams have been dismissing players more frequently, regardless of skill level. The Minnesota Vikings placed running back Adrian Petersen — whom many believed to be the League’s best back — on the team’s exempt list, and he was indicted on charges of child abuse on Sept. 12.
Neither stealing fountain drinks and seafood nor signing autographs for profit can possibly compare to the callous crimes committed by Rice and Petersen. A sexual assault charge, however, places Winston in a strikingly similar place to the NFL’s hottest convicts.
If Winston wants to set foot in the NFL, he better hope the investigation goes in his favor. If he has any suspicion that the investigation may find him guilty of the charges he has been presented, perhaps withdrawing from the university is his best course of action.
