Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston is bracing for a possible three-game suspension next season while the NFL investigates allegations that he groped a female Uber driver in 2016.
ESPN Tallahassee host Jeff Cameron reported Wednesday that Winston, 24, could be suspended as many as three games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
‘The Winston camp is prepared for the NFL to levy a suspension of some kind,’ Cameron said, as quoted by the Tampa Bay Times. ‘The thought from the Winston camp is that would be a maximum of three games. I do not know at this time whether or not they plan to appeal, and I do not know that three games is an accurate number.
Winston, 24, could be suspended as many as three games for violating NFL policy
The driver, a woman named Kate, said Winston was in the front passenger seat of her Uber car waiting to pick up food from Los Betos restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona (pictured) when he reached out and touched her crotch, keeping his fingers there 3-5 seconds
The driver shared details of the experience with Uber within a chat function on its app
‘I’ve been told that would seem to be the maximum number of games that the suspension could be. It’s also likely that it’s less than that and it’s one game.’
Winston is in the fourth year of a four-year, $25 million contract.
He has not been found guilty of a crime, but that isn’t necessarily a determining factor in the NFL. In this case, Winston may be suspended for failing to report the accusation when it occurred.
‘And that’s frustrating,’ Cameron said. ‘That’s a league obviously attempting, and understandably because they’ve made previous missteps, transgressions, they’re now apt to protect themselves to the nth degree and protect the shield and so on and so forth.’
As recently as April, Winston was claiming that he had not been contacted by the league on the matter.
‘Well, I know the NFL has a process they have to go through and I respect that process,’ Winston told reporters. ‘That’s not my job to speculate on that process. My focus has been with this organization, getting the guys back in here and focusing on what we can do to be a better team this offseason.’
The accuser, known only as Kate, told BuzzFeed News that she was driving Winston back from a party in Scottsdale, Arizona, at 2am on March 13, 2016, when he ‘reached over’ and grabbed her.
In the immediate aftermath of Kate’s alleged interaction with Winston, she filed a report with Uber claiming that the NFL player ‘put his fingers’ on her crotch and declared that he was ‘NOT safe for other drivers.’
‘We stopped to get food at a Mexican drive thru,’ she wrote. ‘While we were stopped, out of the clear blue, this rider reached over and put his fingers on my crotch. It wasn’t accidental, and it was only for a very brief moment.
‘It wasn’t my stomach or my thigh, it was my crotch and I want to be clear about that,’ she continued. ‘I was totally shocked, and I shook him off and just said, what’s up with that?
‘Looking back I sincerely wish I would have kicked him out but he is apparently a big athlete in the nfl and he’s very physically imposing, and I was afraid that I’d make him more angry. The rest of the ride proceeded without incident. He is NOT safe for other female drivers.’
He denied the allegations and was supported by Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Ronald Darby, who was in the backseat of the car with Winston and stated that nothing occurred.
Winston was a Heisman Trophy winner at Florida State, where he was accused of sexual assault in 2013. Winston denied the allegations and said he and Erica Kinsman – the accuser who later identified herself – engaged in consensual sex.
In 2012, Erica Kinsman (right) publicly accused Winston of raping her while the two were students at Florida State University. Winston was never criminally charged but settled a civil lawsuit last year. Florida State agreed to pay Kinsman $950,000 as part of a Title IX lawsuit
He was never charged for the crime, but settled a civil lawsuit with Kinsman in 2016. Earlier that year, Florida State agreed to pay Kinsman $950,000 as part of a Title IX lawsuit she filed against the university.
In 2014, Winston was ordered to do 20 hours of community service after being caught stealing crab legs from a Tallahassee grocery store.
Winston was the first-overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft, and has since been selected to one Pro Bowl while throwing 69 touchdown passes and 44 interceptions.
A three-game suspension would be significant for the Bucs, who face three teams over the first three weeks that reached the playoffs last year: the New Orleans Saints, defending-Super Bowl champion Eagles, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.