If anyone wonder why Jameis Winston continues to bring embarrassment upon himself and his Florida State athletic department, look no further than Saturday night's 23-17 overtime win against Clemson.
The reigning Heisman Trophy winner and starting quarterback was suspended for his vulgar comment in the student union on the FSU campus. Originally suspended by Florida State interim president Garnett S. Stokes and athletic director Stan Wilcox for the first half of the game, a subsequent investigation resulted in a full-game suspension.
That didn't stop Winston from suiting up for pregame warmups against the Tigers. CBSSports.com reported that Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher was the one who had to approach Winston on the field during the pregame festivities, and after a conversation that ABC Sports cameras caught, Winston went back inside and took off his pads.
How no one stopped Winston from dressing out and getting on the field in full uniform is a mystery. Someone on the Florida State staff had to have seen Winston getting dressed or already dressed in the locker room, but no one said anything before he trotted out onto the field.
It's uncertain whether the Stokes, Wilcox or someone else representing the school saw Winston in full uniform and then told Fisher to have Winston undress or whether Fisher did it on his own.
Fisher may not have seen Winston before the game, but certainly an assistant should've seen him and at least asked Fisher if Winston was allowed to suit up.
When Winston received the half-game suspension on Thursday, Fisher scoffed at questions of whether a half-game was enough of a penalty against the Seminoles quarterback.
"We're in charge. It's our team. That's our thought," Fisher said, according to ESPN. "We went with the consequences and we're ready to move on."
Florida State's relative leniency toward Winston throughout his athletic career has been under the microscope. He was suspended four days from the baseball team for stealing crab legs from a Tallahassee, Fla., grocery store. He was not punished by the football team.
The school also is under investigation for its handling of sexual assault charges against Winston that became public in December, 2013. The charges were dropped.
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