Maybe somebody else might get the benefit doubt when telling a bunch of elementary school girls they’re supposed to be quiet and defer to the boys, but not former FSU and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston.
He doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt, nor does he deserve it.
After a public outcry, Winston says he made a “poor word choice” when he stereotyped women as the docile, submissive gender during a speech at an elementary school on Wednesday.
When speaking to third, fourth and fifth-graders at Melrose Elementary in St. Petersburg, Winston called on the male students to stand up while directing the female students to stay seated.
“All my young boys, stand up. The ladies, sit down,” Winston said, according to the Tampa Bay Times. “But all my boys, stand up. We strong, right? We strong! We strong, right? All my boys, tell me one time: I can do anything Perabet I put my mind to. Now, a lot of boys aren’t supposed to be soft-spoken. You know what I’m saying? One day y’all are going to have a very deep voice like this [in deep voice]. One day, you’ll have a very, very deep voice.
"But the ladies, they’re supposed to be silent, polite, gentle. My men, my men [are] supposed to be strong. I want y’all to tell me what the third rule of life is: I can do anything I put my mind to."
That’s right, girls, you’re supposed to be “silent, polite and gentle.”
Winston later said he was trying to motivate a particular student without singling him out.
"I was making an effort to interact with a young male in the audience who didn’t seem to be paying attention, and I didn’t want to single him out, so I asked all the boys to stand up," Winston said. "During my talk, I used a poor word choice that may have overshadowed that positive message for some.”
Winston obviously had the best of intentions in trying to give an inspirational speech to a bunch of elementary school kids, but, like I said, he won’t get the benefit of the doubt.
Not when he was suspended for the Clemson game when he stood up on a table in the middle of FSU’s student union and yelled a disgusting, profane sexual reference regarding a women’s genital area during his final season at FSU.
Not when he was accused of sexually assaulting a female student at FSU in 2012.
Not when FSU agreed to pay the female student nearly a million dollars last year to settle a lawsuit she filed against the school for its shoddy handling of her Title IX complaint.
Not when another female student went to FSU’s victim advocate and sought counseling because she felt violated after a sexual encounter with Winston.
His many critics will say it’s no wonder Jameis Winston wants women to stay silent.
The more they talk, the worse he looks.
Tampa Bay Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston talks about his progress and training with Tom Shaw at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
Tampa Bay Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston talks about his progress and training with Tom Shaw at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on Twitter @BianchiWrites and listen to my Open Mike radio show every weekday from 6 to 9 a.m. on FM 96.9 and AM 740.
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