On Thursday, the NFL officially handed down a three-game suspension to Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston for groping a female Uber driver back in March 2016. In response to that, Winston issued a statement where he apologized to the woman involved in the situation, but he did so without specifying what the apology was for.
Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk reported that this apology was made only due to an agreement he made with the NFL to include them.
That’s all by design, according to NFL Network, which reports that Winston and the NFL had a negotiated settlement that saw Winston accept his three-game suspension without appealing, and offer an apology to the woman, but not actually admit any guilt.
There is no clear admission of guilt from Winston, as he appears to just be following the agreement from the settlement to push down his suspension to three games from six. This shows a lack of sincerity given the type of situation he was involved in, as the league found enough in their investigation to put forth a suspension.
What is most troubling is that Winston's decision to truly face the music only came to decrease his punishment, and that this type of behavior hasn't stopped. This isn't the first time that he has put himself in a problematic position, which dates back to his collegiate days at Florida State. This includes shoplifting crab legs, shouting a vulgar statement that landed him a suspension, and accusations of sexual assault.
If anything, he now has the spotlight of the league on him moving forward in his career, as any additional acts of this nature could land him out of the NFL.
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