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Jameis Winston has spent the last few months trying to prove himself. From throwing in front of NFL scouts to sitting down with Jon Gruden for his "Gruden's QB Camp," Winston has been on display for everyone to see. And recently, he took that one step further by sitting down with ESPN The Magazine for a cover story.
ESPN.com just published the story, and in it, you can read all about the workouts Winston has taken part in this spring. You can also read about how Winston's Alabama hometown has helped shape him as a person. And of course, you can read about the off-the-field issues Winston has dealt with since entering the national spotlight.
At one point, Winston addresses the time he yelled "FHRITP!" on the Florida State campus last year. He admits it was a very dumb thing to do.
"I was with my friends," he says. "I was quoting—it was a meme. Like it's just something people say, and me being, wanting the attention, I burst it out. I got a bunch of laughs. You know, that's childish, but I did it. I'm going to own that. That was stupid."
But Winston also gets serious and addresses the sexual assault allegation that was made against him in 2013—and talks about how it has affected the way that people look at him.
"So many people try to dehumanize me," he says. "They say, 'Off-field issues.' They say, 'The sexual allegation stuff.' People view me as a convict, and I didn't even do nothing. People say, 'How does he play like this and all this stuff going on?' Like by me playing well during that adversity, that made people think about me worse, thinking I'm a sociopath."
You can read the entire ESPN The Mag story here. It's probably not going to change your opinion on Winston, one way or the other, but it's worth a read.
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[via ESPN]