The Curious Case of Jameis Winston: Florida State Sociopath

I don’t dislike Jameis Winston. Sorry about the double negative. I love how the kid plays the game on the field. Last year in 2013 was off the charts and we were a witness to that end, Heisman Trophy and all accolades were warranted. Jameis deserved it and led his Florida State Seminoles to the national title.

Fast forward to 2014 and the Seminoles are back in the hunt again for the first national title in the ‘Playoff Era.’ That’s on the field. So far the victories are stacking up, as they cruise past Notre Dame, Clemson, and this past Thursday, Louisville. They’ve been less than dominant in almost every game, much to the dismay of last year’s accomplishments but they are still undefeated.

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Now step away from the field and have a seat. Here’s a folder with a caseload of the person I’m going to describe. Don’t think of it as Jameis Winston, but as someone you don’t know, or ever heard of.

In 2012, this person brought a BB gun onto a campus and was accused of firing at squirrels. No charges filed.

In summer 2013, at a Burger King, same person had police called on him after an employee gave said person a water cup and that person blatantly said he was going to get soda with it. No charges filed.

In late 2013, this person had a sexual assault complaint filed against him, no charges were filed, currently inactive but irregularities are pending about how police conducted investigation but a Title IX investigation has been launched.

In early 2014, same person was caught on tape just walking out of a Tallahassee grocery store with crab legs that he didn’t pay for. Cited and given community service

Fall of 2014, (and this is the last ‘same person’ reference) was witnessed to have caused a disturbance in the Student Union by shouting sexually infused obscenities after standing on a table to do so. University responds by suspending student athlete for 1 game. What do all of these things have in common? Answer these questions and apply it to the person above.

Has the person shown to be meticulous in nature and calm during duress when there’s a firestorm around them? Whether it’s driving his Seminoles down the field, down by 21 or wondering if he’s either going to play or go to prison, Jameis Winston has displayed this question since last October in so many different ways.

Does this person show any sign of remorse or shame about any of the above acts? Look to the BB Gun incident (sense of entitlement), or the issue where Winston said he was going to use the water cup to put soda into in a blatant matter of fact way. Most sociopaths do things like this just to see people’s expressions change.

When this person does something wrong do they accept any or none of the blame? When Jameis was suspended for the Clemson game there was a press conference held in which he did apologize for his actions, saying he did ‘a selfish act.’ In part he was taking most of the blame for his suspension. He then went on to say, ‘You’ve got to overcome adversity, that’s the one thing at Florida State we do.’ You can overanalyze comments that young men make and turn them into anything, but this is so cut and dried it’s comical. This isn’t an injury bug plaguing your team or even continually underperforming on the field, this is off the field incidents that YOU created Jameis, not us. That statement shows the shifting of blame from his shoulders to the ‘adversity.’

Is the person highly manipulative in getting what they want? The water cup, the crab legs, the BB Gun, Jameis has a certain charisma about him that allows him to get the things that he wants, no matter if they cost money or if they just stand in the way. Winning the Heisman Trophy just enables him even more. The prospect of NFL millions will only make sure people keep their ‘no’ cards far away from him. Who says no to him now?

Does the person lash out in instances no matter the environment? The Student Union and subsequent ‘dressing out’ in full uniform before the Clemson game, even though he was suspended for the entire game showed a litany of sociopathic traits. Jumping up on a table and yelling out sexually charged expletives even though you’re subject of a Title IX investigation and then not complying with Florida State’s punishment of you being suspended by still being allowed to be on the sideline shows that Winston is in the least, an effective sociopath.

Dec 14, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Florida State Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston poses for a photo after being awarded the 2013 Heisman Trophy at the Marriott Marquis in New York City. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

So getting back to that first paragraph, I love what this guy Jameis does on the field but I personally think that Florida State will make it to the Final Four without Jameis Winston. There’s just too much time between now and then for him not to make a mistake that would have Florida State officials say, ‘this is the last straw.’ And then I’d fully expect Florida State to abandon Winston since he has made it clear that he’d be declaring for the NFL Draft in 2015. But then again Winston just might manipulate his actions enough to quell his intentions long enough to win that second straight national title and then onto the NFL. Question is: If you were an NFL owner, would you take a chance on him, knowing the baggage that comes with Jameis with millions of your dollars? I’m just guessing that this isn’t the last we’ll hear from the Florida State quarterback in trouble with the law at this level or the next. I hope he gets it together and stays on the straight and narrow and has a long professional career, cause he’s a treasure on the field.

And by the way, the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath is their disposition towards violence and if their actions become criminal, which some say, has already happened…