Dorm Report: Florida State’s folly

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – Don’t look now, but Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston is back in the news for a not-so-positive reason.

Just a few days ago, ESPN reported that Florida State would begin an investigation that will look into whether Winston, last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, received monetary compensation for signing autographs.

The NCAA’s laws regarding compensation for autographs and athletes’ paraphernalia is pretty cut and dry, and is presumably one of the first things made known to an athlete with a name as big as Winston’s.

There’s no reason to defend Winston in this case since, if he is guilty of the infraction, he absolutely should have known better than to sell his signature. But the NCAA is a bit hypocritical when it comes to players making money for the use of their likeness, considering the NCAA and a player’s school both do it on a weekly basis.

This is yet another example of Winston (potentially) being careless, but by now the shocking truth that Winston is a walking liability has worn down to nothing at all.

Here’s the kicker, though: Winston will play on Saturday against fifth-ranked Notre Dame.

Why is that so surprising? Consider this: Just about a week ago, Georgia suspended star running back Todd Gurley indefinitely for the very same infraction. Technically it was for less of an infraction considering James Spence Authentication certified more than 500 Gurley autographs, whereas (according to the ESPN report) more than 900 Winston autographs were discovered to be certified on the same website.

Gurley may very well not play another down in a Georgia uniform. Winston plans to suit up this weekend, and coach Jimbo Fisher is OK with that.

At least Gurley was caught and didn’t deny receiving compensation for his autograph, which is likely why the SEC program hit him with the quick suspension. Winston told Fisher he did not receive any money for his autographs, though we’ll let Florida State decide that.

“Kids sign things all the time,” Fisher said following Saturday’s win over Syracuse. “So what do you want them to do? Stop signing stuff? We could make them not have any fans from that standpoint and not sign for anybody. That’s what it’s going to come to. And that’s a shame for college football, that somebody exploits a kid.

“Now if they’re getting paid for it, then I don’t have any knowledge of that. I don’t believe Jameis did (get paid).”

Is that really it, Jimbo? Or is it because you’d much rather have Winston take the field against a Top-5 team than have Sean Maguire start under center? We all remember how Clemson blew a golden opportunity to take down the then-No. 1- ranked team in the nation just a few weeks ago – the last time the Seminoles made Winston ride the bench for an infraction.

This isn’t the first time Winston has been involved in an off-field incident. Or the second or the third. Since he’s such a repeat (repeat, repeat) offender, isn’t it about time Florida State took action and made an example of the player who has caused the university so many headaches in just a year and a half of being the team’s starter?

This report that Winston received compensation for autographs comes in the wake of the announcement that FSU will hold a student code of conduct hearing for the quarterback stemming from a 2012 accusation of sexual misconduct. Winston was investigated for the allegations, but was not arrested or charged in the incident.

“I think we’ve got to be very careful in today’s society to (not) convict people before the actual due (process) in court or anywhere else,” Fisher said.”

Translation: Winston will play until he’s absolutely forced to sit.

If Florida State actually finds out that Winston did sell his autographs for compensation, then he should be treated to the same punishment Georgia handed to Gurley. But how unbiased can the FSU investigation be? Especially when taking into account the reports that surfaced earlier this month stating Tallahassee and Florida State police intentionally hindered the Winston rape investigation.

One would think that all of this exterior baggage Winston brings to the professional level would knock his NFL Draft stock down a few pegs. But a quick Internet search of several reputable online mock drafts reveals the FSU quarterback is still a Top-10 pick. Apparently the inability to stay out of trouble isn’t a huge deterrent for quarterback-needy NFL teams.

The Cleveland Browns took the first-round chance with Johnny Manziel, who coincidentally was suspended one half of play for receiving compensation for signing autographs while he was still in school. At least Texas A&M made the effort.

The rule set forth by the NCAA is ridiculous and outdated, but it still shouldn’t be hard to follow. Florida State would be wise to accept the fact that Winston, regardless of what the internal investigation turns up, shouldn’t be playing this weekend. Maybe things would be different if the Seminoles had ACC teams like Wake Forest or North Carolina on the schedule instead of Notre Dame and Louisville in the immediate future.

Categorized in: NCAA Football