More Crab
talk..
“A little more than a year ago, then-Florida State
quarterback Jameis Winston was issued a civil citation in Tallahassee for
shoplifting $32.72 worth of crab legs from a Publix.” (TBO, 2015, para.1) We
thought that this incident was long and over with but now there is a “part two”
to this story. The funny story about a
big time FSU quarterback stealing crab legs has grown into a bigger joke.
Now, Jameis claims those crab legs came as part of a deal he
had with a Publix employee who swore to hook him up with free food whenever he
stepped foot into his store. Being a
student-athlete at a Division school accepting free food goes against NCAA’s
compliance rules. Not only is free food
illegal but so are “hook-ups”, upgrades, discounts any of these will result in
a violation.
Winston was given a citation last year for stealing crab legs from
a Tallahassee Publix, though he said last week it was a misunderstanding and he
was "hooked up" with crab legs for free. Either way he was wrong in the crab leg
incident because whether he stole them or got them for free, it’s an NCAA
violation.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, “Winston is considered the
likely choice by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the No. 1 overall pick in the
NFL draft on April 30. If the former Florida State quarterback is selected by
the Bucs in Thursday's NFL draft, Skipper's Smokehouse will give him free crab
legs for as long as he's with the team.” (Perez, 2015)
What are your thoughts on Jameis Winston?
How do you feel about this place giving Winston free crab
legs for as long as he’s on the team?
Is it okay to just
make a big joke out of this situation?
Jasmine Matthews
Cummings, R. (2015, April 22). Winston says crab legs were
given to him, not stolen. Retrieved April 27, 2015, from
http://tbo.com/sports/bucs/winston-says-crab-legs-were-given-to-him-not-stolen-20150422/
Perez, A. (2015). Tampa's Skipper's 'hooks up' Jameis Winston
with crab legs. Retrieved April 27, 2015, from
http://www.tampabay.com/sports/football/bucs/tampas-skippers-hooks-up-jameis-winston-with-crab-legs/2227163
Unfortunately, I think that no matter what I think, people will make a joke out of this for many years to come. No one is going to hold Winston responsible for his actions no matter how comical they are. The flaws within the NCAA compliance and FSU compliance departments are unfortunate. His violations are being swept under the rug because he has a lot of talent. My opinion is that he needs to be held accountable. It is too late now unfortunately and this will only set a tone of acceptance and dismissive punishments. Future student-athletes will look at Winston and think "hey I can get away with this, he did..." Nothing will be done and we will only see the trends repeat themselves. These young men and women in some cases need to grow up and be held accountable for their actions. Just because they are athletically gifted does not allow them to be the exception to a list of widely publicized "rules" if they are not enforced.
ReplyDeleteMarissa Tashenberg
I'm a little torn in this discussion because of how disappointed I was when all of the issues Winston had surfaced. I too believe that he and anyone else should be held accountable for their actions. However, Winston has already been punished for that incident. Jameis was not playing football at the time, he was in baseball season. Mike Martin, FSU's baseball coach suspended Winston indefinitely until Winston completed 20 hours of community service. Once he served his 20 hours he was reinstated by the baseball team. So its not like the incident was swept under the rug and forgotten by laughing it off, he was actually punished and everyone moved on. Yes, he did come out and say that the crab legs were given to him which was stupid because its an NCAA violation so its not like him saying that justified his actions. To me it seems that he's obviously embarrassed about it, among other things and would like to recreate his image but as a young and relatively immature kid he does not understand that it will take time to do so and nothing else. So trying to defend his position by saying "the crab legs were given to me" won't help but he really doesn't need to defend or justify his position because the fact of the matter is hes already been punished for it and served his time. With that said, I used to be high on Winston and thought he was an excellent role model because of all of his intangibles and his strong leadership characteristics. As time passed and he began to shoot himself in the foot and remain immature I have grown away from him but I don't believe he's a bad person by any means, he's just immature. He is however growing and maturing in this draft process and I think given the right opportunities he has the potential to change peoples perception about him and win their hearts because although he has made mistakes and has shown immaturity I believe his heart is right. I'd still take Mariota over him with the number 1 overall pick of the draft though, Mariota has high character and a great deal of maturity. People speak about concerns with his quiet nature but I dont remember when being humble became a negative trait. In my opinion he has a similar character to Russell Wilson, which is the type of leader I'd take on my team any day. Finally, because of the fact that Winston has served his time for the incident I don't mind the joke out of it. Its not like people are joking about it to sweep it under the rug because they want people to forget that he wasn't punished. People are joking about it to sweep it under the rug because it HAS been resolved and they've moved on. Also because let's be honest, its kind of funny. One day we'll have kids (those of us who don't) and they may make bone head mistakes that we'll eventually laugh off also once they've been corrected.
ReplyDeleteJonathan Robinson
I find that Winston has fallen into the category of entitlement that you see in many programs. Because he plays football he receives free things. It is not his first incident and I believe everything with him that has happened the past two years shows he is still immature but is a great athlete. I would think at a big time program they try to establish the rules more or at least cover up the rule breaking better. At Bowling Green they lay out the laws about things like this and as a former softball player we were not put in these situations yet they still told us we could not receive free things just for being on the team. Its an extra benefit. Obviously not knowing him and just hearing things from the media makes it more difficult to judge the situation. I would just hope he learns from his mistake and if he does go #1 in the draft that organization helps him grow and mature.
ReplyDeleteCourtney Cox
As a football coach and fan, I can't wait for Jameis Winston to be drafted and forgot about in terms of him playing college football. He has been more of a headache and attention hog than many players are over the course of their college AND NFL careers. The crab leg incident is one that should have been taken care of a long time ago. If he was in fact receiving free crab legs, he should have been punished by the NCAA. The problem with this issue is that there are college football players all over the country that probably receive the same benefits by some local company. I don;t understand how Florida State will not be issued a compliance violation because of this. He blatantly admitted that he received the crab legs for free and somehow it's some big laughable situation. Florida State should be punished and Jameis can sail into the NFL sunset and hopefully keep his off the field issues to himself.
ReplyDeleteDerek Shay
I agree with Derek that this compliance violation should not be taken as a huge joke. Yes, it’s comical mostly because it was a fairly harmless and the fact Winston is being promised free crab legs from Tampa Bay is poking fun at the situation but that doesn’t mean it is not a violation. Rules should still be enforced no matter how harmless the circumstances. I’m sure athletes receive special treatment all the time and get away with it but the culture of making it a joke could start a whirlwind of unethical behavior. In my experience, every coach I have worked with have enforced these rules on their teams. Even situations that could be construed as “special treatment” was run by compliance officers to make sure their team wasn’t breaking any rules. Unfortunately this sometimes lead to athletes missing opportunities to go on fun trips or events to avoid any violations, but that’s the price they pay to compete at the collegiate level.
ReplyDeleteAllie McDavitt
Amanda Notley
ReplyDeleteThis situation is really just a waste of everyone's time and is giving more publicity to someone who doesn't deserve it. Winston obviously made a poor decision and should be reprimanded and there should be no joking about it. Things are taken way to lately these days and this restaurant that is offering him free crab legs is just egging on his violation. They should not be rewarding him for his stupidity in stealing crab legs. I really think the NCAA real ally should step in between this situation before the violation is turned into one big joke. Athletes that have been caught for similar compliance issues were not given the same light situation is being given and I think it's very unfair.