Jameis Winston has a long list of discipline issues over the past few years at Florida State that many of us know about, ranging from the sexual assault accusation to stealing crab legs at a grocery store. But one story to add to the list comes from his high school days, and it’s one I hadn’t heard about it til now.
Winston was interviewed by Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh as part of a feature on ESPN called “Draft Academy.” The “academy” was designed to help prepare Winston for some of the meetings/interviews he would have with NFL teams. One thing Harbaugh asked Winston about was his disciplinary issues beginning in high school. Winston responded by sharing a story many of us have never before heard.
“I was disciplined for one game against John Carroll for laughing at my coach because he cried,” Winston admitted. “[The coach] felt that I disrespected him.”
Oddly enough, there is no record online of Winston being disciplined for a high school game for laughing at his coach. However, there is a 2011 AL.com article that says Winston was benched for a game against John Carroll during his junior season for arriving late.
Winston was a late arrival with some other teammates before the John Carroll game last fall and was benched. His head coach’s rules also applied to the elite quarterback. He only punted that night.
To make matters even more embarrassing, three college coaches, including one who’d flown out from Stanford in California, attended the game and didn’t get to see him play.
Is that the same game as the one to which Winston was referring? If so, it means his coach covered for him about the real reason for the discipline. If not, then that means he screwed up a few times during high school.
This seems to be another bad sign about Winston’s character. He is an excellent football player and extremely sharp cookie, but his character (not leadership) definitely is lacking. This story along with this video of him with Jimbo Fisher also shows hints of a lack of respect for his coaches. That’s definitely something he needs to work on.
