Florida star takes shot at Florida State again over flag-planting incident

If it has been said once, it has been said a million times: Florida State did not have a good 2024 season, and the team is well aware of that. The Seminoles went 2-10 in 2024, one of their worst seasons in the program after going undefeated in the regular season in 2023.

The Seminoles ended their 2024 season on an extremely sour note, not just because they added yet another loss to their record, but because they lost to their bitter rival, the Florida Gators, the first loss head coach Bill Napier had against the Seminoles. To make matters worse, when the Gators triumphed over the Seminoles, a group of players led by George Gumbs Jr. went to the center of the field and planted a Gators flag in the middle of the Seminole panted on the field.

This ensured an all-out fight between the teams as it had many times earlier that day at other games as well, such as Michigan-Ohio State. Norvell snatched the flag away from the players, and he and Napier exchanged words about the incident after everyone was separated.

Now, FSU did not take care of business on the field, just like they hadn't all season long, but to plant your flag on the field after you beat a 2-9 team, come on, let's have some class. Florida should have gone in there and beat Florida State with the way the Seminoles looked all season long. There is no reason to have that kind of behavior after a game you were favored to win adn should have won.

Napier addressed the situation later in a press conference, issuing an apology to Florida State and promising punishment to the players involved in the flag planting. Napier said that was not the program he wanted to put out and represent and it was embarrassing.

Now, just a few months later, during spring practices, Gumbs Jr. took the stand in a press conference after practice to speak to the media. When asked about the incident, Gumbs Jr. certainly didn't stutter with his answer.

"I would do it again," Gumbs Jr. said.

Did he not learn from the first incident that maybe he shouldn't do it again? Did Napier really give him a punishment that would make it seem like doing it again would be a bad idea? If this is how Florida wants to be, then fine, let's just settle the score on the football field because, at this point, that needs to be where everything is taken care of.