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Florida State will bench Jameis Winston for first half over remarks

 
Deadspin.com published a collection of tweets from students who claimed Jameis Winston yelled a crude remark while standing on top of a table on campus Tuesday. [Getty Images]
Deadspin.com published a collection of tweets from students who claimed Jameis Winston yelled a crude remark while standing on top of a table on campus Tuesday. [Getty Images]
Published Sept. 18, 2014

Jameis Winston, Florida State's Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, will miss the first half of Saturday's prime-time game against No. 22 Clemson for making "offensive and vulgar" remarks on campus, the school announced Wednesday.

"Student-athletes are expected to act in a way that reflects dignity and respect for others," FSU athletic director Stan Wilcox and interim president Garnett Stokes said in a statement. "As a result of his comments (Tuesday), which were offensive and vulgar, Jameis Winston will undergo internal discipline and will be withheld from competition for the first half of the Clemson game."

The punishment came a day after deadspin.com published a collection of tweets from students who claimed the 20-year-old redshirt sophomore yelled a crude, sexually explicit remark while standing on top of a table on campus in Tallahassee. The phrase has become a pop culture meme to shock viewers during TV newscasts.

"It's not a good decision," coach Jimbo Fisher said during Wednesday. "It was something that has to be addressed."

Winston's remark and suspension also comes as both he and FSU are being investigated under the federal gender-equity law, Title IX, which covers everything from sexual harassment to sexual assault. FSU's code of conduct policy prohibits "obscene or indecent behavior," including "unwanted, unwelcome, inappropriate or irrelevant sexual or gender-based behaviors, actions or comments."

The school is looking into allegations that Winston raped a then-FSU student from Tampa Bay in December 2012. Although a criminal investigation resulted in no charges, the school can still punish Winston if it determines he violated the school's code of conduct.

The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights is investigating how the university first handled those allegations.

Fisher said inflammatory or derogatory remarks aren't acceptable and that his staff regularly educates and evaluates players' off-field actions.

"I just want to apologize to my university, my coaches and my teammates," Winston told reporters in Tallahassee. "I'm not a me person, but in that situation it was a selfish act. That's not how you do things.

"I want to be out there on the field, but I did something so I have to accept my consequences, and I'm going to apologize to my team. We're not going to think about negative things, we're going to think about moving forward and winning the game."

Winston led the Seminoles to the national title last season and has thrown for 626 yards and three touchdowns in wins over Oklahoma State and the Citadel. He has never been arrested, but police have looked into at least five incidents regarding Winston since he arrived on campus.

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With Winston on the sideline, Sean Maguire is expected to start. The 6-foot-3 redshirt sophomore from New Jersey has completed 16 of 26 career passes, throwing for 144 yards and two touchdowns.

The No. 1 Seminoles (2-0) have won a school-record 18 consecutive games heading into Saturday's 8 p.m. game against ACC rival Clemson (1-1) at Doak Campbell Stadium. ESPN's College GameDay will broadcast from Tallahassee before the game.

Contact Matt Baker at mbaker@tampabay.com. Follow @MBakerTBTimes.