Saturday, May 2, 2015

Winston sports Bucs Jersey & Crab legs on social media

photo courtesy of publicdomain.com
Jameis Winston will be staying in Florida for the start of his NFL career, but while some fans are excited, others wonder if the Tampa Bay Bucs took a risk with their No. 1 overall draft pick.

Known for his escapades off the field by even those outside of college football fandom, Winston was accused of rape by a former Florida State co-ed.  He still faces civil charges in the controversial case surrounded by speculation that FSU violated Title IX rules and a lengthy investigation by authorities.

Winston celebrated the NFL draft with more controversy after he posted a photograph on a popular social media site sporting Bucs swag and a plate of crab legs.  You might remember Winston was suspended from another college sport - baseball.  He was questioned and later cited after leaving a local Publix supermarket without paying for - you guessed it - crab legs.

While Winston has stated he simply forgot to pay, the incident has followed him throughout his college career.  He was given 20 hours of community service for his forgetfulness.

While many jokes have been made about crab legs, an incident involving profanity toward females last season on campus led to Jameis Winston sitting out the first half of the Clemson vs FSU game.  Speculation swirled around the phrase Winston yelled while standing on top of a table on campus that perhaps there was a pattern of irresponsible behavior towards women.

So did Tampa Bay take a risk?  That remains to be seen if this young college quarterback can make the transition to the NFL, and stay focused on the game rather than off field controversy.  If football is too tough to handle for this Heisman winner, then maybe the Texas Rangers will still have a deal for him to play baseball.  A better Plan B might involve maturity and some discipline.

Jameis Winston's career at Tampa Bay is yet to play out, but certainly all eyes will be following him as he enters the professional sports arena.