Leadership Credibility Damaged
November 19th, 2017
Super Bowl-winning WR explains.
With the recent allegation that Jameis Winston grabbed an Uber driver in her private area, guilty or innocent, he may no longer be the leader of the Bucs he so craves to be.
That’s the word from former Packers receiver Greg Jennings. The two-time Pro Bowler who won a Super Bowl ring with Green Bay now makes a nice chunk of change as a TV talking head.
On Friday, Jennings was a co-host on “Speak For Yourself,” seen on FS1 weekday afternoons. There, Jennings said a quarterback cannot continue to get into off-field hassles. And he said if Jameis was his quarterback, it would be hard to trust him as Jameis would have lost significant credibility in the locker room with all the nonsense following him off the field, guilty or innocent.
“If I am a teammate [of Jameis’], or I am an organization, every time something like this pops up and you are considered the franchise guy, it is a knock on your credibility in the locker room and even as a leader,” Jenning said. “And when you have a player in a position as a quarterback, you are expecting them to show maturity both on the field and off the field so that your accountability and the level of respect that your [colleagues], that your teammates have for you is so high to where you can say something on the field and you can get them to play, you can get them to buy in.
“With his name coming up, whether it is true or not, it is a knock on his credibility, even if it comes out true or not. The constant blow to the side of the ribs, if I am a teammate, I am like, ‘Man, I need you to be the guy we all expect you to be and that is mature and our leader.’”
Jennings is onto something. The rah-rah speeches on the sidelines look cool but until Jameis starts playing better, right now it is a bunch of empty woofing.
And imagine you are, say, DeSean Jackson. You turned down bigger cash to come to the Bucs specifically to play with Jameis, and now Jameis very easily could get slapped with a six-game suspension. How the hell does a team overcome their starting quarterback being gone for almost a third of a season?
Leaders don’t cost their teams games while in street clothes in the middle of March.
November 19th, 2017 at 8:22 am
From what I know so far, this is a she said, he said type of case.
So, she reported it to UBER, it is still her word against his.
This would be thrown out of court, because she lacks evidence.
November 19th, 2017 at 8:28 am
Looks like one of the guys that was in the back of the car with JW3 came forward!!!!!!!! Ronald Darby is doing interviews saying he was in the back with JW3 and that the accusations are “Just Not True”!!!!!!!!!!!!
Again, take the accusations seriously, but let an investigation go forward before jumping to conclusions like the media with an agenda!!!!!
GO Bucs!!!!!!!!!
November 19th, 2017 at 8:30 am
I am sure there are many other behind the scenes eye brow raising “questionable behaviors”….we’ll never know about….I am talking about appropriate not legal
November 19th, 2017 at 8:33 am
Once the Roy Moore claims were made it kid of snowballled…Harvey Weinstein, Richard Dreyfuss, Kevin Spacey and of course Al Franken. Some chick wants her 15 minutes of fame and we have Winston drug threw the mud.
November 19th, 2017 at 8:33 am
Lets be real ..Guilty or not Jamis will pay someone to say it was not him. Wouldn’t you?
November 19th, 2017 at 8:39 am
Buc Realist I am not seeing anything on the internet about this claim by one of his friends. The uber driver is saying Winston was the only passenger and I am sure she would realize if there was another person in the car in addition to Jameis. I have been a long supporter of Jameis. I thought he would be able to keep his nose clean. Apparently he can’t. The Bucs are going to have a high pick this year in a QB deeep draft. Unfortunately, I think they need to move on. As the face of the franchise he needed to keep his nose clean and he was unable to. She also claims he was yelling homophobic slurs at passengers as they drove by. A guy that acts like that cannot be your team leader.
November 19th, 2017 at 8:42 am
Ronald Darby says Jameis was in the back seat
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/11/19/ronald-darby-accusations-against-jameis-winston-are-just-not-true/
It’s too bad we don’t know who was in the front seat. But Even if he was in the back seat, JW still needs be held accountable to some degree.
November 19th, 2017 at 8:43 am
Nothing new said by Jennings, but the words are true. And this isn’t just about “he said, she said.” Sure, for criminal charges or even likely a civil case, nothing would come of it. But the point remains IF he did not tell his organization, it is a major concern of trustworthiness. He won’t get out of it with “I didn’t think it was a big deal, yeah, my bad.” It is about mulitbillionaire NFL team owners, an organization, and a community giving a man whose character was already questionable a chance to prove all wrong, but whom (if he said nothing about it) concealed a very significant incident. From humbled beginnings to getting paid millions to play a game Jameis is entitled, and should be squeaky clean like the NFL franchise QBs are.
November 19th, 2017 at 8:52 am
If it walks like a duck, it is a duck. What we see of Winston’s play and behavior (fingers in mouth) etc. will continue. He is what he is.
November 19th, 2017 at 8:54 am
If she was assulted, she should have called the cops. She didn’t, because this whole manufactured story did not go down like she said.
She should sue Uber for not contacting the authorities or doing anything about this other than cancelling JW’s account .
JW needs to embrace the dark side and become a bad ass on the football field and everything will be forgiven.
November 19th, 2017 at 8:57 am
Winston was voted a captain, he is supposed to be the face of the franchise with that being said he should have enough common sense never to put himself into a position to set himself up to fail. Given his past accusations he needs to live life beyond reproach. He proved last week he isn’t a leader with the stunt he pulled in the last game on the sideline causeing one of his best players to get suspended. Leaders know how to keep emotions in check and rally the troops for the common good of the cause and that’s winning games!
November 19th, 2017 at 8:58 am
Please quit talking about a six game suspension. Allegations will destroy this country. So please stop before we open a can of worms. When we start to judge and judge more often is when I feel darker days ahead will rise. Anywho for one day I’ll enjoy. Go Bucs!!
November 19th, 2017 at 9:00 am
This ERA female is getting real sick and tired of Gropergate! Did Fameis assault this Uber critter? As in rape? No. No telling who else groped her; they were unknown and poor. I rest my case!
November 19th, 2017 at 9:02 am
@Chris
I agree. I doubt much will come of this but with his history he has to be extra careful to not put himself into situations like that. I tried playing the situation back in my head to think about how I would’ve handled things. First off calling uber was a smart decision especially if he was out and had a few drinks. You can’t control who your driver is but once I saw it was a female (again with his history in mind) I probably would’ve asked to sit in the back. That’s not a huge deal either way but the one thing that I definitely would’ve done was call uber immediately to dispute the accusation once I learned that my account had been suspended for that reason. Unless for some reason he didn’t immediately know that his account had been suspended and the reason behind it I would think that he would’ve wanted to clear that situation up quickly even if he never planned to use uber again. Hopefully something definitive will come out of this to prove his innocence and it’s not another situation that’s floating out there on his public image resume that no one can prove guilt or innocence.
November 19th, 2017 at 9:05 am
sad…ugly…that we have to be talking about this….using the Ray Lewis defense now….
November 19th, 2017 at 9:07 am
@Realist
I thought you were making a joke when you said that he was out Ronald Darby again when this alleged situation occurred but apparently it’s true.
November 19th, 2017 at 9:19 am
I actually missed this part of the apology statement:
“At the time of the alleged incident, I denied the allegations to Uber, yet they still decided to suspend my account.”
So it looks like he did immediately dispute it with uber. So that’s definitely a positive.
November 19th, 2017 at 9:20 am
official statement not apology.
November 19th, 2017 at 9:20 am
Should have happened 20 months ago.
November 19th, 2017 at 9:27 am
Lets just use common sense…..If indeed Winstons mysterious friend did commit this act….And Uber reached out to him for a response….And after his response, they determine that its best to suspend him FOREVER. That’s a red flag that you immediately take to the Bucs…..Whether Winston is smart enough is questionable but he’s surrounded by smart people that know they should get out in front of a damaging story in which they can prove he’s innocent. Its a no brainer…..the Bucs have the resources to address it and make it go away. The fact that he withheld it….and his people withheld…..AND the gal isn’t seeking any money…..is concerning.
Also….its possible three people did enter the car on Winstons account. Its also possible that 2 were dropped off before Winston was taken to the fast food drive thru……There’s a lot of vague responses be given from Winstons camp that are doing a terrible job of presenting him as innocent.
November 19th, 2017 at 9:32 am
True leaders don’t need words.
When an unproven QB makes all those rah-rah and W-eating speeches and then goes out and still throws INTs into double and triple coverage, the “leadership” thing is rendered moot.
Jameis, like all the other big mouths on the team need to just shut up and play.
That “speak softly and carry a big mf stick” jive looks lame at 3-6.
I’m not sure the Bucs have any actual leaders who play better than they talk.
November 19th, 2017 at 9:41 am
Nothing like being guilty until proven innocent.
November 19th, 2017 at 9:54 am
No one can do anything when falsely accused.
Seriously. If the driver lied, what does that have to do with Jameis’ maturity? He was taking an Uber. I presume so he wouldn’t drive drunk or something.
The driver has been caught in the lie. It wasn’t just Jameis in the car as she said. It was him and three others and he was in the back seat.
Uber suspends on the drop of a dime. That means nothing.
November 19th, 2017 at 11:10 am
Bonsai, exactly how has the Uber driver been proven to be a liar??? She claims there was one passenger in the car. The guy that she claims sexually assaulted her and wants/needs an alibi claims there were other people in the car. How does this prove she is lying??? If anything I would say Jameis is the one with the incentive to lie!
November 19th, 2017 at 11:45 am
This was sort out of my point after the New Orleans “eat a W” game. Seems like he might be trying a little too hard and making some poor decisions. When I saw the “eat a W” speech, I thought to myself that I would have a hard time taking him seriously.
There is still hope and this is part of the maturation process. I thought no him sitting and watching is a good thing and might calm him down some. He needs to just shut up and play.
November 19th, 2017 at 11:50 am
Touchdown TampaBay: she apparently has made conflicting statements as to the number of people in the car. Now you have someone that says he was there too along with possibly a third and you don’t think she’s got a possible credibility issue? What is Darby’s incentive to lie? He makes enough money and plays on another team and claiming to be there only puts him in harms way. Please explain.
November 19th, 2017 at 11:58 am
Chris
This will have nothing to do with a court of law…it’s TOTALLY in the court of public opinion.
If #3 had never done anything before he would get a much larger benefit of the doubt in that court of public opinion. But he’s been through a LOT…and it wasn’t all fake news. The Rape was the big story and perhaps it was Kinsman cashing in…so we give him that doubt…but the yelling in the cafeteria…crab legs…bb pistol shooting…none of that is horrible by itself even putting the rape aside….
#3 should not find himself out late at night…drunk…with a loser like Darby. That’s just PacMan Jones kind of stooopid. Again #3 is wealthy!!! Hire some freaking bodyguards…party in a lavish hotel suite!!! It’s the price you pay for being a wealthy, famous athlete who gets to live like a king for playing a freaking kid’s game. It doesn’t get any better than being an NFL star QB…the challenges of public scrutiny may be a pain in the butt but they pale in comparsion to the unimaginable benefits.
November 19th, 2017 at 1:01 pm
Darby has no credibility until cell phone data can show it was the same ride. I’ll bet Jameis took multiple rides at 2:00 during that time in AZ. What if they got dropped off and she took Jameis after?