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In November of 2012, Jameis Winston and teammate Chris Casher were stopped at gunpoint and put in hancdcuffs. That is the hook of a USA Today story by Rachel Axon.
What you can learn after you click the salacious headline is that nobody was arrested or charged with anything, and that the incident was related to hunting squirrels. Let's cut through the nonsense and ask some questions.
Was Jameis Winston charged with a crime?
No, but police did take his pellet pistol and pellets.
Why did police draw their weapons?
It's standard procedure when approaching someone with a gun. The report indicates that Winston fully complied with the orders to drop the gun and get on the ground.
Is hunting squirrels illegal in Florida?
No, not as long as it is done during squirrel season, which it was. Also, squirrels may be shot on our own property as nuisance animals at any time. The issue here is that Winston had the pellet gun on campus, and that's against the University's code of conduct. (see below)
Why would Winston have the pellet rifle on campus? Shouldn't he have known better?
The following is now irrelevant, because the trail is NOT on campus. USA Today and Rachel Axon have since corrected the story, removing parts about it being on campus, and about any code of conduct issue -- the portion of which I screenshotted, below.
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Ordinarily, yes. But the trail on which they were hunting isn't obviously part of the campus. I've been coming to Florida State for 25 or so years, and lived very near the trail for several, and I didn't realize it was part of the campus. It's on the other side of stadium drive. Winston, even as a freshman at the time, would certainly be expected to know that, say, Landis Green or any number of the dorms are on campus, but the trail? Not so much. It connects campus and a number of apartment complexes. Here is the description of the trail from a website:
The Stadium Drive Bike Trail begins on the Florida State University campus near Varsity Drive and Stadium Drive (SR 366) and travels north and west 2 miles to N. Ocala Road, just south of US 90/SR 20/10 (Tennessee Street).
The trail follows part of the Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad corridor, which used to stretch Bainbridge, Georgia. Since the 1990s, when the multi-use trail was first developed, the trail has seen many improvements, including safety call boxes for trail users, many of which are FSU students who use the trail after dark.
The trail passes through part of the FSU campus and residential areas and includes a tunnel under Stadium Drive for easy crossing of this busy thoroughfare.
Personally, I would not hunt squirrels in the area. Not because it's on campus, but rather because there are people around who could get hit.
What does this say about Jameis Winston's decision making?
Winston's current decision making? Nothing.
Winston's decision making as a freshman in his first football season? It probably says that he, at times, acted like a dumb college kid.
Have Winston or Casher commented on the incident?
A polite @Jaboowins when I asked about USA Today story on his squirrel hunting adventure: "Sorry sir, I'm not talking about that."
— Brendan Farrington (@bsfarrington) July 30, 2014And Chris Casher when I asked about the USA Today story: "That's some bullshit. They can kiss my ass. And you can quote me on that."
— Brendan Farrington (@bsfarrington) July 30, 2014Why is this coming out now? How is a non-serious issue in which nobody was charged, arrested or injured from two years ago relevant now?
Jameis Winston is the most famous college football player. Almost anything with his name in a headline is going to generate big traffic or ratings.
We know that reporter Rachel Axon, who lives in Gainesville, has been digging for dirt on Jameis Winston for at least 12 weeks (see our screenshot from early May). At some point, there is pressure to produce a story after all that digging.
So @RachelAxon of USA Today is reaching out to those who went to high school with Jameis Winston. Hmm... pic.twitter.com/dCsZsB6fjx
— TomahawkNation.com (@TomahawkNation) May 8, 2014USA Today chose the headline "Jameis Winston stopped by police at gunpoint in 2012 incident," which is sure to get a ton of clicks. The headline on mobile devices was even more salacious and nondescript.
This is also somewhat related to the infamous "BB gun battle" the players had at their apartment complex, in which Winston was allegedly involved. The players escaped eviction after paying restitution for the damages caused.
What is Jameis Winston's arrest count at now?
Despite the sensational journalism around Winston, he has still never been arrested for any crime. He came close with the crab legs shoplifting incident, but instead was given a civil citation, a common practice for first time shoplifters.
Did anything humorous come of this?
You bet. Not surprisingly, there were quite a few who were rating how "Southern" hunting squirrels actually was. Also, some good laughs were had about Florida having a "bow-only" short season on squirrels. Taking a squirrel with a bow is very impressive, of course.
Image may be NSFW.
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shhhh its sqwuirrel hunting season pic.twitter.com/ObMz6MKutb
— Perry Kostidakis (@perrykos) July 30, 2014Seriously: #FSU does have a squirrel problem. There's even a parody account @FSUSquirrels#Noles way too many of them pic.twitter.com/FxEsbKHhsp
— TomahawkNation.com (@TomahawkNation) July 30, 2014