Florida State suspends Jameis Winston for entire Clemson game
Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston's suspension was increased late Friday night from one half to the entire Clemson game.
"Based upon the results of our continuing investigation of Tuesday’s incident involving Jameis Winston, we have decided to not play him for the entire game against Clemson on Saturday night," said a statement attributed to Florida State interim president Garnett Stokes and athletic director Stan Wilcox. The statement did not include any other details.
On Tuesday, several Florida State students wrote on Twitter that they had seen Winston, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, yelling obscenities in the student union. The particular phrase Winston was quoted as saying matches an Internet meme that was popular this summer. On Wednesday, Stokes and Wilcox announced Winston would be suspended for the first half of Saturday's Clemson game, which matches the two best teams in the ACC Atlantic Division. Winston was suspended earlier this year by Florida State's baseball team after he was cited by the Leon County Sheriff's Department for shoplifting crab legs from a Tallahassee supermarket.
• FSU fans rip students who tweeted about Winston incident
This week's incident was particularly sensitive because the words Winston was quoted as saying were sexual in nature. In late 2012, a Florida State student accused Winston of raping her. In November 2013, state attorney Willie Meggs announced he would not pursue charges against Winston in the case. The university is also conducting a Title IX investigation into the accusation.
"That was a selfish act, and that's not how you do things around here," Winston said of Tuesday's incident during a press conference Wednesday. He also said, "I have to tone it down."
Sean Maguire, a redshirt sophomore from Sparta, N.J., will start in Winston's place. Maguire has played in 10 games, but he has only thrown passes in four of them. He has completed 16 of 26 attempts for 144 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
