Jameis Winston issues continue to place cloud over FSU Football program

Jameis Winston will be suspended for at least three games to start 2018, giving critics another chance to trash FSU football yeas after he left.

With just over two months to go until the 2018 NFL season kicks off, there was a growing consensus that one of the most decorated players in the history of FSU football – former quarterback Jameis Winston – will likely miss the first three games of the season for his professional team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

It was confirmed on Thursday when Winston issued a statement confirming he will be sidelined when the Bucs open the season.

The suspension stems from an alleged assault over two years ago involving Winston and an Uber driver in Arizona. While Winston has not been charged and there have been conflicting accounts about what took place from Jameis, the alleged victim and witnesses, it’s another log on the fire of controversy surrounding him.

With each moment that happens over three and a half years after he took his final snap for FSU football, Jameis Winston’s controversies continue to have the tendency to cast a cloud over the Seminoles’ program.

Whether it’s the alleged incident in Arizona, comments he makes or things he does on the field, the first thing brought up is the variety of moments that took place from when he was leading the Noles.

From the stupid incidents like crab legs, yelling obscenities in the student union or shooting a BB gun and damaging property – to the serious allegations of sexual assault for which he was never charged – Winston’s time in Tallahassee made him one of the most polarizing figures in all of sports.

The fact that Jameis Winston was never charged in the alleged 2012 incident – though he did agree to a later civil settlement with the alleged victim – has done nothing to change the fact of how people feel about him, adding to the polarization argument.

There will always be a segment of the population that will ALWAYS believe that Winston was guilty and there was a mass cover-up to keep him eligible for the 2013 national title season – and there will always be a segment of the FSU football fan base that believes Winston did nothing wrong and continues to be attacked by haters.

Jameis Winston is no doubt a talent on the football field – yet some would argue he hasn’t grasped the idea of keeping a low profile and understanding that he is always going to be a target for critique, whether he actually did what he is accused of or not.

At the same time, the FSU football program continues to be brought up in a negative light – even when many of the people associated with what did or did not take place during his time in Tallahassee are no longer with the program.

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I’m not calling for Jameis Winston to be cut from the pro game or for FSU to act like he never wore the garnet and gold since he has not yet been convicted of anything – it’s just time for us as fans of the Seminoles to accept that as long as Winston is in the spotlight, a negative angle is always going to placed on our beloved program by some.