Jameis Winston was the most talented quarterback in the NFL draft, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers desperately needed a QB. Taking the former FSU stand-out with the first pick should've been a no-brainer, but there was obviously one particular red flag that would've given the team pause.
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Winston displayed a string of bad character and bad decision making during his tenure in Tallahassee, the most infamous of which was the allegations he had committed sexual assault against a fellow student.
The team wanted to do their due diligence on Winston before risking the number one overall pick on him. However, due diligence only extends so far for them.
Speaking to SI's MMQB, the Buccaneers' general manager Jason Licht admitted that the team spoke to about 75 people to gauge Winston's draftability, but his rape accuser wasn't one of them.
“We are not talking about this now," Licht said, "but we read the depositions. We knew what she was going to say. This was a thorough investigation. We were not going to mistake charisma for character.”
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Social media reaction to this news was mixed. Many criticized the Buccaneers for selling the idea of a thorough vetting when it was really just a once-over, while others like Sean Newell of Vice Sports took a more nuanced view.
How crazy weird is the NFL? Everyone's upset a football team didn't grill a rape victim about the football player they were drafting.
— Sean Newell (@dontforgetmac) May 4, 2015
Feels like that authoritarian, due diligence stuff is slowly seeping into our brains in the weirdest ways. — Sean Newell (@dontforgetmac) May 4, 2015
Who's to say she would have even talked to them? So weird. — Sean Newell (@dontforgetmac) May 4, 2015
Either way, it doesn't look like this Jameis Winston selection is going to be anything less than controversial for Tampa Bay for a good while longer.
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