http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/21/sports/ncaafootball/an-uneven-response-to-jameis-winstons-wrongdoing.html 2014-09-21 04:16:53 An Uneven Response to Jameis Winston’s Wrongdoing Florida State’s decision to lengthen the suspension of its star quarterback may have come about because of uneasy coexistence between big business and amateurism at the top tier of college sports. === On Wednesday, hours after Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston was “I just want to apologize to the university, to my coaches and to my teammates,” Winston said. Visibly upset, he continued, “I really want to apologize to my teammates, because I have now made a selfish act for them.” Winston, 20, became the youngest winner of the Heisman Trophy last season in part on the strength of a statement game against Atlantic Coast Conference rival Clemson, Florida State’s opponent Saturday night in Tallahassee. He also became college football’s most controversial figure after it was revealed late last year that a fellow student had accused him of rape. In April, he was arrested for shoplifting $32 worth of crab legs. Saturday’s rematch against Clemson was a crucial one for Florida State, which was ranked first in the nation but could ill afford a conference defeat in its quest to reach the College Football Playoff, especially since the A.C.C. lacks the depth of other major conferences. It was notable that Winston’s contrition did not seem primarily directed at observers offended by his crude joke, but rather toward his teammates, whose chances of winning would be harmed by his absence. In this, argued Richard M. Southall, a South Carolina professor who specializes in sports ethics, Winston may as well have been taking cues from the university itself, which appeared to have acted mainly out of self-interest in first suspending Winston for a half-game and then, on Friday, extending it to a full game amid a cascade of criticism for what many perceived to be a slap on the wrist. “Is it wrong, or is it bad because he did it in public?” Southall asked. He said that with the extension, Florida State was acknowledging the latter. “This is very strategic,” he said. “Now you hear the commentators saying that they did the right thing.” The university attributed the extension to “the results of our continuing investigation.” Original posts on Twitter from eyewitnesses, which the website Deadspin Southall also said that the current climate in the N.F.L., which has been roiled by incidents of domestic violence by players and harsh criticism of the league’s handling of them, very likely influenced Florida State’s response. The suspensions came from the university’s interim president, Garnett S. Stokes, and Athletic Director Stan Wilcox. Neither was in their current position in late 2012 when a fellow student accused Winston of raping her. It was later learned that although the athletic department knew about the allegation long before it became public, the university did not investigate, as required by law. It finally In addition, the Tallahassee police did not contact Winston for two weeks after learning he had been accused. Prosecutors declined to file charges. Winston did not miss so much as a day of practice as a result of that allegation, not altogether surprising given the uneasy coexistence between big business and amateurism at the top level of college football. Myron Rolle, a former Florida State safety who is now a member of the Knight Commission, which works to ensure that athletics programs operate within the educational mission of their universities, said he understood that Winston was held to a higher standard than the average student, but added that there should be wider awareness that life can in some ways be more difficult for prominent student-athletes. “This pressure and movement toward proper conduct and properly comporting himself has been thrust on him immediately, quickly, vigorously, and with some serious voracity,” Rolle said of Winston, whom he calls a friend. Even with the perks that come with being a star athlete, being as visible as Winston at such a young age cannot be easy. But if his status makes his transgressions a national story, it may also be part of why he has avoided more severe consequences. Sometimes it takes an incandescent talent like Winston, capable of influencing the course of a game as well as a university’s bottom line, to illuminate the fissure between the ideal and the reality of college sports. Going forward, Florida State would certainly prefer that Winston earn special status on the football field, not notoriety off it.