Jameis Winston explains crab legs issue to Jim Harbaugh (Video)
We now have an explanation from former Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston about the crab leg incident from a Tallahassee, Fla.-area Publix last spring.
Almost a year ago, Winston was issued a citation for shoplifting crab legs and crawfish and suspended from the Florida State baseball team. The 2013 Heisman winner did community service as part of his punishment and was the butt of many, many jokes throughout the rest of the season.
In an episode of ESPN’s Draft Academy filmed earlier this year and released Tuesday, Winston met with Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh and Michigan quarterbacks coach Jedd Fisch. The three were discussing topics that would come up in interviews with teams and Fisch brought up the crab legs incident. Harbaugh, after telling Winston to be “as serious as a heart attack” when mentioning the incident then asked Winston exactly what happened. Here’s what he said.
“Well, a week before was my buddy’s birthday and we had got a cake,” Winston said. “We met a dude that worked inside Publix and he said ‘hey, anytime you come in here, I got you.’ So that day, we just walked out and he hooked us up with that. And when I went to get crab legs, I did the same thing and he just gave them to me and I walked out. And someone from inside the store had told the security that I didn’t pay for them and that’s how the whole thing started.”
Despite the off-field questions surrounding not only the crab legs incident but Erica Kinsman’s allegations against him and a series of profanities in public that got him suspended for a game in 2014, Winston is the presumptive No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft and will likely be a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
And of course, free food from a grocery store because of a football player’s status can be an NCAA violation, though we’re guessing it’s unlikely this is going to result in any punishments or a big investigation, just as Braxton Miller’s Instagram photo netted little from the NCAA. But now, thanks to the coach of another college football team, we have a public explanation from Winston. You’ve gotta love draft season and the programming it creates.
– – – – – – –
Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
