Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston will sit on the bench for the first half of Saturday’s game against Clemson after he was seen shouting an obscene sexual phrase on campus Tuesday.
According to TMZ, the phrase was: “F*** her right in the p***y.”
The reigning Heisman Trophy winner was reportedly screaming it at the top of his lungs, imitating the current Internet sensation of hecklers yelling out the phrase behind news reporters who are in the middle of live shots.
FSU interim president Dr. Garnett S. Stokes and athletic director Stan Wilcox denounced Winston’s “offensive and vulgar” behavior in a statement Wednesday to announce the punishment.
“As the university’s most visible ambassadors, student-athletes at Florida State are expected to uphold at all times high standards of integrity and behavior that reflect well upon themselves, their families, coaches, teammates, the Department of Athletics and Florida State University,” the joint statement said. “Student-athletes are expected to act in a way that reflects dignity and respect for others.”
The joint statement also said Winston would undergo “internal discipline.”
Winston’s words came to light on Tuesday, when witnesses of the incident ran to Twitter.
“It was not a good decision,” coach Jimbo Fisher said of the incident during Wednesday’s ACC teleconference. “You can’t make certain statements that are derogatory or inflammatory to any person, race or gender. You have to understand that. You have to be very intelligent about what you say, [because] it matters.”
The No. 1 Seminoles host No. 22 Clemson at 8 p.m. ET Saturday on ABC.
Winston was investigated in 2013 for sexual assault, but Willie Meggs, the state attorney for the Second Judicial Circuit, chose not to charge Winston in December. Florida State is still following through with its Title IX investigation into the matter.
Winston was also suspended from the baseball team for three games and ordered to perform 20 hours of community service after being cited for stealing $32 of crab legs from a local grocery store in April. There also have been other minor run-ins with authorities, but no arrests.
“You don’t ever want any kind of instances, but we have to keep learning and educating, we have to make better decisions, we have to make good decisions on things,” said Fisher, who said he has discussed Tuesday’s incident with Winston. “And we’ll try to continue to do that and try to educate.
“… The statements in which you make are always going to be more public than statements that other individuals make. That’s just the nature of the business, of who you are and what you are.”
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(Photo Source: AP)
