Bobby Bowden gets it wrong calling Jameis Winston an embarrassment to Florida State

By Patrick Schmidt | May 12, 2015

Former Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden says Jameis Winston was an embarrassment, but is he wrong?

Bobby Bowden is a Florida State legend who won a pair of national titles during his Hall of Fame career in Tallahassee so when he speaks, people tend to listen to what he has to say.On Tuesday, Bowden sent ripples through the Florida State fan base when he referred to Jameis Winston as an embarrassment on The Paul Finebaum Show.

"I think it's a consensus among FSU fans and boosters that he was an embarrassment to the University" - Bobby Bowden on Jameis Winston
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) May 12, 2015

Winston was the most polarizing player in college football the last two seasons when he went 28-1, won the 2013 Heisman Trophy and led the Seminoles to an undefeated record and the BCS National Championship. Last year he led the Seminoles to another ACC Championship and an undefeated regular season before losing to Oregon in the College Football Playoff semifinal.

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Nothing to be embarrassed about with his play on the field.

What made him a polarizing figure to college football fans and why Bowden believes the fans and boosters think he’s an embarrassment is because of his strong of off-the-field issues.

Winston was at the center of a sexual assault investigation that plagued his 2013 season and although charges were never levied against him, there were questions about the sincerity and integrity of the investigation by the Tallahassee Police Department.

He would later be cleared in a Florida State inquiry last December that threatened his eligibility for the Rose Bowl game against Oregon and is now embroiled in civil lawsuits, including one where he is counter suing his accuser.

Throughout the sexual assault investigation the Florida State fans, coaches and community were his biggest supporters and defendants. They even got the New York Times article that shed light on the flawed investigation into Winston’s sexual assault case marked as spam and were fiercely loyal and devout to their star quarterback.

He was in an embarrassing situation to be sure, but the FSU fans never let it be known he was an embarrassment.

Winston made it harder for him to be defended after video surveillance at a Tallahassee Publix showed him shoplifting crab legs. He was given a citation and ordered to complete community service and served a suspension from the baseball team. Jimbo Fisher supported the suspension from the baseball team but wouldn’t suspend him from the football team.

Fisher couldn’t defend him when Winston shouted a vulgar expression on campus and suspended him for the first half before changing it to the entire game the night before kickoff. Florida State went on to win the game in overtime, but not before Winston dressed for the game before Fisher sent him back to the locker room dumbfounded he was dressed despite the suspension.

Winston has embarrassed himself, his teammates, coaches and his school, but I think Bowden is off base here. Florida State fans revere Winson, one of the best to ever play at Florida State, and will continue to cheer for him in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

I’m sure many of them have already bought his No. 3 jersey after he was the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. Boosters were undoubtedly none too pleased to see their star quarterback repeatedly make poor decisions, but they also know they needed him more than he needed them and wouldn’t have had any other quarterback under center than him.

That’s not something fans do if they think he is an embarrassment.

Next: Top 10 Teams Who Will Desperately Miss Their Old QB

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