FSU is still unbeaten but Winston can’t escape scrutiny

Winston was embraced by his coaches, his teammates and the rabid sellout crowd of 82,000 plus.

 

But he is not going to win an popularity awards with the most of American public, who view him as an out of control, big man on campus who has been protected by the university athletic department, overly enthusiastic boosters and the local police force in Tallahassee.

 

It’s time for him to grow up.

 

But outside of interim president Garnett Stokes tacking half a game onto a half-game suspension of Winston for the Clemson game after he stood on a table in the student dining hall and yelled sexually explicit comments, no FSU officials have seem willing or able to modify his behavior. And, even the suspension occured, Winston, showed up for warm ups before the game in uniform and had to be told to go into the locker room and change into street clothes.

           

Winston’s off field behavior and the failure of local police to make him and his teammates accountable were chronicled in a well researched, two and a half page expose last week by the New York Times, which started on the front page of the paper. His actions will have long range consequences. The NFL is backing away, with a growing number of scouts and GMs concerned Winston may be a loose cannon. A ESPN Sports poll last week asked whether you’d wnat your favorite team to draft Winston if it needed a quarterback. With more than 10,000 respondents, 75 percent said no. And the Hesiman Pundit.com poll of actual voters, which listed votes for 11 players– including five quarterbacks– last week, did not  include him anywhere on the ballot. Character apparently trumped performance in this case.

 

Georgia’s great running back Herschel Walker, who won the Hesiman Trophy in 1982,  said he could not vote for Winston for college football’s biggest award this season.

 

“Before he won the award (in 2013), there was an accusation of sexual assault,” Walker told the Paul Finebaum Show. “Forgive me for saying this, but I didn’t vote for him. I didn’t vote for him because, it had nothing to do with him on the field, when I won the Heisman I hope it stood for more than just me playing football. I hope it stood for me as a person, how I did in school, and me being an athlete. Being an athlete is more than just playing the game. I didn’t vote for Jameis because of that 

 

“In my opinion, the Heisman Trophy is supposed to mean integrity. At that time there was not integrity, because of the situation that happened at that time. Today, until his act is cleaned up, I can’t give him my vote. I’ll say it right now, I can’t give him my vote.”

 

Auburn’s iconic Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson, who won in 1985, admitted trying to counsel Winston before his troubles overshadowed his play on the field. “I have communicated with him, and I just talked to him like I was his dad,” Jackson said in a recent interview on the Jim Rome Show. “The things that you need to do. And this was before the incident where he was [suspended] from the baseball team [for stealing crab legs]. I really don’t know who is giving this young man guidance. Jameis Winston needs to make some changes in his life. Because it’s affecting him now, and it’s definitely going to affect him down the road.”

 

Florida State escaped its last big test of the regular season, but there were moments of doubt. The Irish came close to pulling off the upset. Quarterback Everett Golson drove his team to the FSU two-yard line in the final seconds, throwing what looked to be a game winning touchdown to Corey Robinson with 13 seconds left before officials took the points off the board when Notre Dame was whistled for offensive pass interference when a receiver blocked the defender responsible for Robinson.

 

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly was not happy with the flag. “We execute that play every day,” Kelly said “And we do it legally and that’s the way we coach it. We don’t coach illegal plays.” The Irish were pushed back to fourth and goal from the 18-yard line and FSU linebacker Jacob Pugh picked off the desperation pass by Golson in the back of the end zone.

 

After the game, Winston ran over to hug Fisher, who told him to be humble. “It’s my job to help mentor and help him. And he’s a fun guy to coach and be around,” Fisher told ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi. “I’ve always cared for him, like I care for all my players. That’s my job.”

 

Winston’s teammates were also supportive. “Jameis is not a dumb kid, he just makes poor decisions at times just like everybody his age does,” defensive lineman Mario Edwards, Jr. said. “Things get blown up a lot bigger because he’s Jameis Winston and he won the Heisman, and it’s not fair to him and it’s not fair to us. But that’s Jameis. Jameis is a goofy kid and he loves to have fun and he’s going to play good football.” 

Winston has never lost a game as a starter and and some rabid Florida State fans apparently are willing to do anything to protect their most valuable asset, including going after the woman who brought the sexual assautl complaint to authorities. Winston, for the record, was never was charged criminally after the accusation in Dec. 2012, but he still faces a hearing over potential violations of Florida State’s student code of conduct. Depending on how the hearing goes, Winston could potentially be suspended or expelled, which would likely end his career at FSU. The hearing is not a criminal court proceeding. The accuser needs only a preponderance of the evidence and does not need to prove anything beyond a reasonable doubt. She may ask him questions, but he may not ask her questions. Anything Winston says in the hearing could be used by state attorney Willie Meggs — should he decide to re-examine the criminal case — or by the accuser in a civil case. The hearing date has yet to be set. But Winston’s legal team will certainly try to delay it past the football season. That way, it won’t matter because Winston will have already dropped out of the school and will be off preparing for the 2015 NFL draft.

 

The point is, it shouldn’t have come down to this, where Fisher is constantly having to defend himself for the way he deals with an entitled player. And Winston shouldn’t put the school in a position where it risks compromising its principles to protect an athlete who has a questionable track record.