Expect Reporting Failure To Suspend Jameis
April 23rd, 2018
Whether or not America’s Quarterback, Jameis Winston, actually crotch-grabbed a female Uber driver without permission 25 months ago in Arizona may be no factor in an eventual 2018 suspension under the official NFL Personal Conduct Policy for players.
It’s Jameis’ failure to report the allegation in a timely manner that appears most likely to put him on the shelf for at least one game this season.
Players are obligated under the current conduct policy, as it is posted on NFL.com and the NFL Players Association website, “to promptly report any matter that comes to their attention (through, for example, victim or witness reports, law enforcement, or media reports) that may constitute a violation of this Policy.“
The league is clear; if an accusation against a player is one that, if true, would violate league conduct rules, then the player must report it promptly to his team or the NFL.
Here’s the exact language from the current league policy that appears damning for Jameis: “Failure to report an incident will be grounds for disciplinary action. This obligation to report is broader than simply reporting an arrest; it requires reporting to the league any incident that comes to the club’s or player’s attention which, if the allegations were true, would constitute a violation of the Personal Conduct Policy.”
Per comments from Bucs officials, Jameis did not report the Uber allegation to the Bucs or the NFL when Uber advised him of the official driver complaint and subsequent suspension of his Uber account in March 2016.
BuzzFeed broke the story in great detail in November of 2017, and then the league launched its probe after learning of the allegation.
Dirk Koetter and Bucs officials were asked when they learned of the Uber-driver allegations and they said their awareness came during the week the BuzzFeed story broke.
Translation: Jameis didn’t report the accusation to the team — or the league, which would have notified the team — as directed by the NFL conduct policy. In fact, Jameis admitted via a November written statement that he was aware of the Uber allegation two years ago. “At the time of the alleged incident, I denied the allegations to Uber, yet they still decided to suspend my account,” Jameis wrote.
Gray Area
The following is Joe’s exchange with Koetter on Nov. 22.
JoeBucsFan.com: Coach, there’ll be a lot fans and just people across the Bay area tomorrow, Thanksgiving, talking about the Jameis Winston investigation. Is there anything that you’d want them to know or consider while they talk about it?
Dirk Koetter: No. Because I can’t talk about it. That is in the hands of the NFL right now. And we’re cooperating with that investigation to whatever extent that is I don’t even know. There’s just nothing I can say about it right now. It’s got to run its course. And when it does, we’ll have more to say at that time.
JoeBucsFan.com: Can you say when you first learned of it?
Koetter: I learned when we were on the field, coming off the field on Friday.
Again, whether Jameis is innocent was not relevant to his obligation to report the allegation to the NFL or the Buccaneers.
Per various interviews by JoeBucsFan.com, Jameis failed on that obligation and it will sink him for at least one game this season unless the NFL decides to go softer on Jameis than it has on other players.
A major question is whether Roger Goodell will choose to apply the current conduct policy to Jameis’ case.
Following the Uber-driver allegation in March 2016, the league revised its conduct policy late that year to include the clear-reporting responsibility quoted in italics above.
When Jameis was first accused by the Uber driver, the conduct policy in effect (December 2014 edition) only specified that teams must report to the league any allegations, as well as educate employees of “this obligation to report” all allegations to the team that could, if true, violate the conduct policy.
So there is a little gray area there.
But it’s reasonable to think Goodell and his team would have expected Jameis — or any other player with an assault-related accusation hanging out there — to come clean when the reporting rules were sharpened late in 2016.
That may be unfair, but that is reality. Jameis kept the allegation from the NFL and the Bucs, if team officials are to be believed, and there’s no reason to think Goodell would let a cover-up slide.
Expect that alone to sink Jameis for at least one game this season, especially given the nature of the allegation.
April 23rd, 2018 at 9:50 pm
I would think that suspending him for one game for a non-reporting violation would be too severe. I may be wrong, but I think some sort of written reprimand would be in order, particularly in light of other players’ conduct that resulted in non-suspensions.
April 23rd, 2018 at 9:51 pm
Having said the above, I think Fitz can handle things against the Saints week one. If this is the worst outcome from all this, I’ll be relieved.
April 23rd, 2018 at 9:54 pm
He won’t be suspended. You just stated the reason but made the change in policy retroactive for prior conditions, that took place under an old policy. That in itself would be grounds for appeal and overturning a suspension.
April 23rd, 2018 at 9:56 pm
So does Darby from the Eagles get suspended too Joe for not reporting the ‘incident’? He was there & obviously knew what went on.
April 23rd, 2018 at 9:59 pm
There are numberous players now that are having their driving licences revoked or suspended, child support late or not paid…etc similar secondary legal matters that dont report to their teams or the league
Uber? What and who cares about a a uber suspension? I wouldnt doubt there are minimum 25 players right now have their uber accounts suspended
**the houston police filed criminal charges to michael bennett. Philly and seattle didnt even know anything about it whatsoever…even this charge is going to get thrown out
The union is going to fight this the end
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:01 pm
Oh and BTW Joe, Jameis not telling the Bucs about the ‘incident’ when it occurred in Mar 2016 is a LOT more significant IMO than not telling the NFL. His paycheck comes from the Bucs, and he has an employee-employer relationship that requires a certain amount of, shall we say, transparency? I really like Jameis, but he left them hanging.
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:02 pm
All this still begs the question: Who was the third passenger?
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:03 pm
Oh I have no doubt he’ll be suspended. In the age of #MeToo and all that it entails the NFL has zero margin for further criticism of biased/sexist policies that favor its players over the accusations of a woman. Not to mention, Jameis isn’t seen as a choir boy nationally – letting him off the hook would be inviting a significant amount of bad press. It has to happen.
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:08 pm
This isn’t about an “Uber Suspension” it is about a potential sexual assault, especially in the age of #metoo. The NFL got absolutely roasted over how it handled the Ray Rice case even though none of the facts changed throughout. All that changes is how bad does the NFL currently look to the public. Ray Rice was cut from the Ravens even though he was originally just suspended for a couple of games.
None of the other 31 owners will lose any sleep over Jamies getting suspended. Has there ever been an incident involving an NFL player and a woman’s allegation, starting with Ben Roethlisberger, that the NFL hasn’t suspended the player regardless of the facts of the case? Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, physical assault, you name it. The NFL management will always take the White Knight position.
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:09 pm
Joe is this the info that you were going to drop? I thought you had some groundbreaking evidence.
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:10 pm
This is great reporting right here. I’m not sure if you came up with this information on your own or if it was inspired from elsewhere, but this is true insight rather than mere speculation.
Because this assault was sexual in nature and this is not the first accusation of this type, you can expect 4 games (initially).
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:11 pm
What is to report, an ‘Uber’ investigation? There was no law enforcement or government agency involved. Uber is not an investigative agency – that would be nonsense to say you need to tell your work place that Uber has your under ‘investigation’. If that’s the case can I put send Drew Brees a letter saying I’m investigating him for putting his kids in danger by having them on the sidelines in the Pro Bowl? I literally have just as much authority to investigate as Uber does.
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:14 pm
If Jameis gets suspended for more than one game I say we should sign Kapernick just to spite the league. They shouldn’t be able to suspend players for (what they consider) criminal acts that where never criminally charged.
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:15 pm
If that is really the extent of #3’s liability I’ll breathe a sigh of relief.
Agree with Seminole Bill that a stiff reprimand should be enough but if they need a game out of his hide so be it. We can survive and hopefully #3 learns another valuable life lesson.
Do not go out in mixed company where alcohol is involved without a paid and trained body guard. It’s well worth the money and you don’t need to keep the dude on retainer..just hire as needed from a reputable agency.
Eliminates all DUI’s, drug busts, false accusations from chicks, assaults from drunken Philly fan who wants to prove his manhood.
Hire a bodyguard Jameis!!! It’s not a reflection on your “masculinity’ but rather your BRAIN to have one.
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:16 pm
So this is your big breaking news that you clearly want our qb to get suspended so you can further devide the fan base! Why make things up. Joe doesn’t want Jameis suspended. –Joe Who knew the Commish was taking about you when saying evil Bucs media. Dude the only thing that will get him suspended is all your digging and bringing it up everyday! If you believe that last sentence, then Joe doesn’t know what to say. C’mon. You think the NFL cares about JoeBucsFan.com? Joe and Ira Kaufman have been screaming to the NFL to get this thing wrapped up fast so Jameis can be treated fairly along with the Bucs and their fans. Joe watched Ira corner Goodell last month in Orlando–Joe
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:22 pm
Having minor kids on the sideline vs grabbing a chicks crotch without permission.
Seriously?
Tom Brady got 4 games and pretty sure police weren’t involved in that either. The golden boy got 4 games for allegedly taking air out of footballs and he didn’t even give up his phone.
Nfl wants to set examples of who is in charge whenever they can.
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:24 pm
I think it would be a break for us if it’s only 1 game. We need Jameis to take that next step this year. The team will go as far as he takes us.
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:26 pm
Bird – Lets see, some #MeToo fraud wanting a payday versus having minor kids on the sideline of a game with 320lb players flying around AND Drew not paying attention to his kid that literally ran out onto the field during a live play. Gee, I wonder which is the bigger issue, some kid getting paralyzed or some women thinking “I know him from TV and can make a quick buck”.
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:30 pm
^^^^^
Wow. You are sticking with your comment.
All good man. After all , you are the guy that is never wrong.
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:31 pm
Good luck with your drew Brees kids on the sidelines investigation.
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:33 pm
What am i missing. The policy says “if the allegations were true, then it can result in disciplinary action” As of know the allegations have not been proven to be true. Therefore he is still good. Failure to report incident and if allegations are proven to be true results in suspension. Am i missing something?
“Failure to report an incident will be grounds for disciplinary action. This obligation to report is broader than simply reporting an arrest; it requires reporting to the league any incident that comes to the club’s or player’s attention which, if the allegations were true, would constitute a violation of the Personal Conduct Policy.”–Joe
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:34 pm
Brady was suspended for doctoring the footballs and not forthcoming with the investigation
There are exact detailed rules concerning footballs and how they are maintained during the game
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:35 pm
So now Jameis can’t leave his house without the worry of being suspended. If I were him I would leave the NFL in protest.
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:37 pm
1. Rules were in place.
2. J-miss didn’t abide by known rules (which, sorry, implies guilt.)
More bad judgement from someone who has a history of bad judgement. It is getting harder to give him, a serial 9th grader, the benefit of the doubt. How many more times are we supposed to extrapolate innocence from a rising sea of stupidity?
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:41 pm
So THIS is the whopper??? This is it? 🙂 This could have been “disclosed” a while ago. The NFLPA could have provided language on the Personal Conduct Policy to any credentialed person of the media, pursuant to the proper request, and since the fact that Koetter had already mentioned that Jameis hadn’t reported it to the team, is 1 + 1 = 2…..for the big revelation. 🙂
Next, and most importantly…..the NFLPA acting as his counsel will have major grounds for appeal as to the 2014 language of the Personal Conduct Policy currently in force at that time. Then, so would his personal counsel, then the District Court of Appeals….on and on.
I can’t believe …this…was the thing.
Back to Thursday night!
Go Bucs! Go Bold! Go Barkley! Go Primetime!
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:43 pm
Well folks he is or he isn’t guilty. The truth will come out on this one sooooo Jamies can’t hide from those consequences. It will be what it will be!!! All this speculation on our part is mute!!
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:45 pm
This sounds like a stupid policy designed for the sole purpose of the NFL covering its azz before a story–real or not–can get to the tabloid sites. It protects the league and leaves the players out cold… the player’s association really needs to push back against this policy.
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:46 pm
Of all the dumb distractions. C’mon, NFL! This could have and SHOULD have been resolved long, long ago. It is difficult to comprehend their lack of speed and it sure looks irresponsible to jerk a player and team around this way. Either do something or don’t do something. It can’t be all that difficult to talk to 3 or 4 people and sort it out – unless they really don’t want it sorted quickly.
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:49 pm
Joe
Come on joebucsfan is better than this. I love your site, but this is a bit of a reach no matter what ultimately comes of the investigation.
LOL. Joe is just laying out the facts here, as they tie to the NFL policy. There’s nothing to reach for. –Joe
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:51 pm
Again are you guys reading. It says, if a player does not report an incident and the allegations are found true, then rules have been violated. Allegations are not proven true. Joe i am disappointed for you to put a story out here like that. You obviously did not read the rule. You are adding gasoline where its not needed. You act like you want jameis suspended. Very disappointed.
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:53 pm
Bucs fans…..objectively. Here’s something. I know @Joe likes and respects Mike Florio from PFT a lot, as I’m sure many of us do (THIS guy does).
Just throwing it out there, that if this story circulates through NFL Media personnel on Tuesday, which it might, well Mike Florio practiced Employment Law for 16 years before starting PFT, as he has told his story many times, and perhaps Mike will offer his…..well expert opinion on this matter, as I believe he still has his law license, and this is a matter of employment law–the CBA that is.
Who knows…..but it’s probably likely.
Go Bucs!
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:54 pm
Who are you to judge BringBucsBack? Talk about bad judgement when you have no facts. As far as I am concerned he is innocent until proven guilty.
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:56 pm
you out to be ashamed of yourself. The home of jameiswinstonwatch.com
April 23rd, 2018 at 10:57 pm
I 100% agree with you Webster.
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:01 pm
Yea – I knew the big “news” about Winston that Joe teased on Sunday night was gonna be some bullspit little meaningless tidbit trying to explain why Joe thinks Winston will get suspended. Said so on that thread. It really seems like you’d rather not know what’s going on with the Jameis investigation. Don’t get it. If you don’t like the NFL policy, then write to Goodell. It costs less than a dollar. -Joe
Well here it is… Weaksauce!! Jameis is not getting suspended. And if he does – I hope he sues the F__K out of the NFL.
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:02 pm
Fyi joe
A player is suspended if proven guilty whether or not he reported the incident. What really is the purpose of this article? To add to the clouds over jameis head? You ripped tom jones when he wrote about jameis “telling girls to sit” You are on his level with this one. Smdh
Sorry, man, you must be misreading something. The NFL policy is not written by Joe. It’s all here and very clear, and the links are there for anyone who wants the full look. If what was written here was wrong, Joe assures you someone in power would have called Joe to take it down or change it.–Joe
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:02 pm
Webster, wish you were correct, but you’re not. Joe actually did a very thorough job with this. You guys love to attack Joe, which is said, this isn’t Republicans vs. Democrats. I’d much rather not be in the dark and appreciate any of the media that has tried to shed light on the starting freaking quarterback. It’s kind of important and the Bucs are giving no real info.
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:02 pm
We aren’t a playoff team anyway
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:05 pm
Again, read it twice before you accuse others of not being able to read.
“Failure to report an incident will be grounds for disciplinary action. This obligation to report is broader than simply reporting an arrest; it requires reporting to the league any incident that comes to the club’s or player’s attention which, if the allegations WERE true, would constitute a violation of the Personal Conduct Policy.”
If the allegations WERE true, not if the allegations ARE true for everyone who thinks they have found some loophole that will allow Jamies to get off. Even if they find out that that the incident didn’t happen, the issue then will be the lack of a timely report.
I am from Tampa but am stationed up in Washington in the Navy. The military has had problems with sexual harassment and abuse and we have similar rules to the NFL when it comes to this crap. Bystander intervention, duty to intervene, failure to report, Military protection orders (domestic abuse) ect. none of these things require proof, just allegations. Same goes for colleges as we have seen over the years.
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:06 pm
the rule doesn’t mandate a suspension for failing to report only that there will be discipline. It would seem that if (and I say if) the accusation isn’t proven that would be a mitigating factor. Perhaps a fine would suffice.
Also, the mandatory six game suspension only applies if the action is a felony. Is crotch grabbing a felony?
In 31 years of criminal law I’ve never seen a felony charge like that. Battery perhaps. Maybe lewd and lascivious, but not a felony.
Lastly Jameis has to be informed of any rule violation and be given an opportunity to be heard before the disciplinary officer. That would include the underlying charge and the failure to report. Haven’t heard anything like that has occurred.
Of course this is Lord Goodell were talking about, but if I was going in front of a judge under those rules and the facts as I know them I could worm him out of it.
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:07 pm
People thinking he won’t be suspended are living in a fantasy land. Goodell WILL suspend him.
It doesn’t matter that he was innocent. And really, nothing had come of it so there was no reason to report it to the NFL or to the team. It was not a violation because accusations are made all the time, usually false ones against the players. Heck, you can listen to sports talk and radio hosts make outlandish accusations all the time. Do all of those get reported to the NFL? Nope. Nor should they be.
It wasn’t until the story broke years later that the topic even came up. The deadline date for the driver to file a civil suit has passed. The story broke, and still it was months after that before the driver even got an attorney.
But none of this will matter to Goodell.
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:14 pm
When Jameis was first accused by the Uber driver, the conduct policy in effect (December 2014 edition) only specified that teams must report to the league any allegations, as well as educate employees of “this obligation to report” all allegations to the team that could, if true, violate the conduct policy.
So there is a little gray area there
——–
LOL!
Is there any other case like this? Have any other players disclosed a suspended or closed Uber account?
America’s Quaterback!
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:16 pm
So he’ll be suspended for not reporting his Uber privileges were revoked lol nice. If Winston is saying it was mistaken identity and the only reason he paid the price is because he paid for the ride then yeah the NFL looks petty to fans of the bucs and ignorant fans who know nothing about the team or Winston other than the rape allegation have more ammunition
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:19 pm
WHY WOULD HE REPORT ANYTHING IF NOTHING HAPPENED? it’s an honest question. Simply because the NFL rules say you have to report any allegation that alleges a violation of the conduct policy, true or not. That’s not Joe’s rule. Same answer for your comments below. Don’t blast Joe sharing info here. Most fans don’t prefer to be kept in the dark. The reporting is part of the consideration in the Jameis case, like it or not. Crying wolf? What??
Jimminie Christmas, Joe. Really? And don’t tell me that when Uber informed him that there was a driver complaint on him that, that was his clue to report to team and NFL. Bullspit. Uber is a joke and absolutely disclaims that they do no investigation into matters. Tons of people have been banned from Uber for doing absolutely nothing. The Joes have Ezekialitus or they hate Jameis. My money is on Ezekialitus. When absolutely nothing happens you guys need to apologize to a lot of folks cause of right now you guys are the only media publication standing on the mountain and crying wolf about this. What a joke.
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:19 pm
Joe did you read?
The last sentence clearly says IF THE ALLEGATIONS WERE TRUE, THEN it violates the conduct policy. “Chris in WA” comment below explained it much better than Joe could. It’s all right there in that paragraph.–Joe Those are not websters words, those are nfl policy. Please tell me when the ALLEGATIONS WERE PROVEN TRUE. And lets for a second say you are right which you are not, but why have you been so adamant to speak on jameis suspension when the nfl, bucs, uber, or jameis have not? He’s the franchise QB and the investigation is an important part of this season. It’s nothing more than that. Maybe, just maybe, fans caring about what’s happening, and media pushing for a decision and clarity, will lead the NFL to be more fair. –Joe Part of why zeke was suspended is because jerry jones could not stay out of the camera and kept adding fuel. Thats you now. Adding fuel so the nfl has no choice. The bucs havent asked you to take it down? What good is that going to do? Its been in the cloud as soon as you posted it
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:20 pm
@Eric – The “discipline” here for failure to report is all up to Goodell, though it’s hard to believe a cash fine is going to satisfy the Commish for somebody keeping a sexual related assault charge quiet. The sad thing is these players are drilled and drilled and drilled to report anything that comes there way that could be misconduct, from bar shouting matches to evictions, whatever. Jameis knew better.
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:24 pm
I’ll just ask, what does the NFL consider an ‘investigation’. Uber has zero authority in the world, none – does the NFL say you have to report any “investigation” by anyone – including private individuals and corporations? If the police are not called, if there is no lawsuit, what is to report?
I don’t see why Winston would be obligated to say Uber has him under investigation – they’re Uber! If the NFL tries to suspend Winston over this there is no way this isn’t going to be in the court for years, the Players Union wouldn’t let this stand and I think for once I’d be on their side. This isn’t a homer thing either, if it was Matt Ryan in this situation I’d say the exact same thing. Unless the courts or the police are involved there is no reason to involve the team or the NFL. Obviously if he got arrested and tried to hide that, or got a lawsuit filed and tried to hide that – then yes, he’d be in trouble. But this isn’t that.
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:26 pm
@ bonzai
I believe he can be suspended. I just dont see the need for adding fuel in jameis own back yard at the beginning of the bucs most important year. Makes no sense
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:30 pm
Joe, while I appreciate the effort here, there’s a lot of conjecture and speculation, inherent in this piece. Perhaps, more than anything, this illustrates the criticality of establishing a timeline of events, corroborating statements and assessing evidence as part of the investigative process. What did Jameis know and when did he know it are key pieces of the puzzle. Does the suspension of his Uber account, in and of itself- meet the reporting thresholds in place at the time? What’s the “bright line” or litmus for triggering self-reporting here consistent with league rules and the collective bargaining agreement? How does this align with the facts and timeline? I simply don’t think we know all of that. Sure we have on the record quotes here and there and policy verbiage that can be referenced, but where’s the hard proof that Jamies breached here? Again, there’s supposition and conjecture based on publically available information-which may form part of the picture- but it’s not the whole picture.
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:32 pm
So..What? No Excuses. Plug in Fitz. Ger her done!!!!
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:34 pm
My Facebook account got suspended because they don’t believe what my real name is – and they demand an ID to prove that’s my name. I’m not sending Facebook a copy of my drivers license under any circumstance- they are Facebook, they don’t matter. So if I worked for the NFL would I need to report that to the NFL, that Facebook did an investigation into my account? Does Tmax need to report to his manager at Wendy’s that Joe finally got sick of his trolling and banned him? This is like a movie from the 1980s where in the future corporations run everything and you must report all your life activities to the corporation you work for. If I gave Facebook my ID and then made fun of Zuckerberg, next thing you know Robocop is at my door to re-educate me on what is acceptable behavior and what isn’t.
I stand with Winston against these cyberbullies and corporate overlords.
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:35 pm
@ joe and chris
Chris did not explain it better. Chris says the rules says if WERE found true and not ARE found true. What allegation do you know that WERE found true that no longer true/ARE true? If its found not to be true, then it never WERE True. were and are is interchangeable. Its just a different tense ie past and present. What are we talking about?
You can Google “subjunctive case” and the use of the word “were,” you should get some clear explanations there. Were and are are not interchangeable.–Joe
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:39 pm
Joe, I read this article thinking this is grade A reporting and an example of why this site is the best Bucs beat around. I’m shocked some of the fans in the comments are upset. You are reporting facts about league policy. You bringing them up in an article isn’t going to make the NFL realize they have a policy to enforce lol.
I hope they enforce the 2014 policy and punish (fine) the Bucs organization rather than enforce the new policy and discipline Jameis. And hopefully the new policy doesn’t specify it is retroactive. I see this going to appeals and will get VERY legal if it doesn’t specify retroactive.
Great reporting, joe. You can bet the league considered this right after they heard of the allegation.
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:43 pm
FrankPillow – you’re talking like a lawyer when this is the court of Roger Goodell and the tilted league conduct policies. Goodell runs the show and Jameis might be innocent or be able to talk his way out of getting nailed on inappropriate behavior, but he’s toast on keeping it quiet for so long. Maybe Jameis can cut a deal, take a game and get this thing over with.
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:43 pm
kudos to Joe for good research I say.
I didn’t know about the failure to report policy and appreciate it being brought to our attention.
I think he might skate by but we shall see.
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:46 pm
Some of the fans are reaching for their comparisons. A facebook account suspension due to a name issue isn’t equal to an allegation of SEXUAL ASSAULT. Does the name Ben Roethlisberger mean anything to you people? Ray Rice? The NFL cares about it’s IMAGE, specifically to women (unless you think all the Breast Cancer stuff is done out of the kindness of their hearts and not a marketing push for pink NFL gear).
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:46 pm
I’mtired, you’re correct. I have no facts; mere observation…not unlike yourself. I’m not sure my comments passed a judgement. I am, as would any judge or juror, objectively contemplating his history.
In or out of court, you certainly aren’t implying that an upstanding individual with no prior issues is viewed the same as someone with a sorted past? Cause and effect are immutable laws.
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:49 pm
****************************
JOE,
1. As you mention in your article, the conduct policy that Jameis was under when the accusation was laid WAS NOT VIOLATED by Jameis, period.
Great example here of why you are in moderation at all times. Joe did not write what you just wrote above. –Joe
As you can see, plenty of your post here was deleted. Joe cannot tolerate certain types of misrepresentations that you continue to make about Joe. As for the Uber voice mail you referenced, this clearly sounded like a non-assumptive, pre-written script given to Uber customer service people to read on voice mails. You can’t read into that without making pure assumptions. –Joe–Joe
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:51 pm
@ chris,
Big ben paid off both girls. Big difference
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:51 pm
Joe and the team of moderators delete dozens of links in the comments here daily. Thank you.–Joe
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:54 pm
I hate the idea of an innocent person being punished, but I think Joe is right. The preponderance of the evidence supports Jameis innocence, but the NFL isn’t interested in innocence or guilt, right or wrong, black or white. The NFL is only interested in green. It’ll never know with certainty what happened, so they cover their rear ends by calling the facts of the case inconclusive and suspend Jameis for one game for the non-reportance.
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:56 pm
Also what does Bucs management think behind the scenes. I imagine behind closed doors there would have been an understanding with Jamies where if there were any questionable situation he was placed in, no matter how minor, he should immediately inform the team at least so they could get ahead of it and the potential fallout.
If you’re Licht or the Glazers wouldn’t you want to know about these situations the second it happens considering the intense scrutiny Jamies had coming from FSU? How do they feel about all this if it’s to be believed that they only found out when the Buzzfeed story broke?
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:57 pm
Crotch grabbing is not a sexual assault, at least under Florida Law.
It requires an act of penetration with a sexual organ or object.
Again, never seen it in 31 years….
April 23rd, 2018 at 11:57 pm
Webster, with all due respect, you are embarrassing yourself with the lack of reading comprehension you are displaying. Please go back and re-read the article again. Too much for me to address, it’s just better for you to re-read it.
April 24th, 2018 at 12:00 am
Bottom line to me: Joe’s got some good analysis here. 50/50 shot Jameis gets suspended at this point if this is all the NFL has.
April 24th, 2018 at 12:04 am
Webster NFL is saying any allegation whether it’s true or not needs to be reported to them. Ur looming at was true the wrong it’s whether or not it is true u must report it. I think it’s a bullshat rule bit Joe is giving us the facts
April 24th, 2018 at 12:04 am
“Failure to report an incident will be grounds for disciplinary action.”
He didn’t report it so he can face “disciplinary action.”
“…if the allegations were true, would constitute a violation of the Personal Conduct Policy.”
The allegations haven’t been proven true so he hasn’t violated the Personal Conduct Policy but he failed to report the incident so he COULD face disciplinary action.
Disciplinary action for failing to report the incident and violating the Personal Conduct Policy are two seperate things.
Disciplinary action for failing to report an incident can be as simple as a fine, he may not even be suspended.
It all comes down to whether or not they will hold him to the old rule, since it happened before the new rule was revised or, they feel like the current rule applies to him no matter what.
April 24th, 2018 at 12:09 am
Good summary Jjones.
April 24th, 2018 at 12:19 am
@ rodney
The rule never says whether or not it was true. Now you are adding words to the rule. If it said what you wrote, i would not be posting. Again, players that are found guilty are suspended anyways. I do not get the point of this article. We are suppose to be the local city.
April 24th, 2018 at 12:25 am
“Assault related accusation”, “cover-up”
Those are your words , Joe , without any police or medical report.
The allegation/accusation is what it is. Joe isn’t pulling it from thin air. It might be complete BS, but that’s not the point. The allegation is laid out in great detail (see BuzzFeed story) and the NFL launched its investigation. The NFL policy on reporting an allegation has nothing to do with police reports or medical reports. As for the word “cover-up,” that’s just basic English. Something not reported when it’s supposed to be under a policy is being covered up.–Joe
April 24th, 2018 at 12:29 am
Ultimately joe it comes across as though you’re rooting for his suspension. That’s your twisted opinion and you are entitled to it. But it’s pure silliness, almost as ludicrous as how the NFL has handled the investigation process, which should have been wrapped up long ago so the Bucs and their fans could move on wisely and feel like the league gave a crap. –Joe
The story has more holes than swis— than the Bucs dline 🥁
April 24th, 2018 at 12:30 am
Man a lot of you guys are going way overboard. We are lucky to have such a great website for bucs fans. I search for sites like this when we are playing other teams. And a lot of them have no sites like this one. You act like joe needs to be quiet and not inform us of rules that most of us knew nothing about. He is just simply bringing to our intention that this could also be a reason why he is suspended. And you guys act like cause he brought that up the nfl is reading the rules on joebucsfan like they had no clue it was a rule. Joe be quiet the nfl is reading your every article. Quit talking about it you are making the story stay relevant so they have to suspend him. Give me a break guys this are starting quarterback this is as big of a story as there is for us. Talking about it isn’t going to make the nfl suspend him more games. You act like if no one says anything it will just go away. Great article joe thinks for showing us the rules so if he does get suspended for not reporting we all know why now.
April 24th, 2018 at 12:35 am
And i could care less about the legality of this rule. Were are whatever. Writing an article about this now with two days until the most important draft makes no sense. The front office want to concentrate on the draft and thats why they dont talk about the investigation. Now they will have answer this. Now we have to hear the media talk about it every time we pick during the draft. Im asking why add fuel? We are home city.
April 24th, 2018 at 12:37 am
No links, as Joe has written repeatedly. –Joe
April 24th, 2018 at 12:43 am
This is why i get mad at us tampa fans. Tom brady under investigation and his home media/fans defends him. Same with zeke and dallas. Not here. We write articles of why our qb should be suspended two days before the most important draft we have had in a while.
April 24th, 2018 at 12:45 am
Joe – a cover-up is an attempt to conceal evidence of wrongdoing,- not the same as not reporting a complaint. Jameis may have behaved inappropriately or not, but use of the word “assault related” is not appropriate , at least not yet, in reference to this allegation.
April 24th, 2018 at 12:51 am
This is silly. New QB; “In my 5th grade class, Susie said that I was looking up her dress. I thought you should know NFL.”
1. No formal charges were filed in criminal or civil courts.
2. I see the Sexual Assault tag all over these comments – there was no sexual assault, even by the woman’s own admission. At best it was grouping, which is not assault; a technicality, but stop stretching it. Some so-called grouping may not even be criminal in some states, depending on what was touched and how.
3. Winston was under obligation to report any incident that occurred after the change of policy. How far was he expected to go back? There was no charge to be proven. Uber did not investigate, and the woman did not file charges. Case closed.
This is silly nonsense and the NFL would be reaching in a HUGE way to suspend Winston.
Imagine, suspended for something that he did not do because he did not say that he did not do it, when you were not required to say it, when it did not happen.
April 24th, 2018 at 1:00 am
At best it was groping,
———————
Not even, according to her text “like grazed his fingers over my pants while we were waiting.”
April 24th, 2018 at 1:03 am
I still don’t understand why anyone would need to tell anyone about an Uber “investigation” – they’re Uber. I don’t see how or why it’s comparable to a police report and/or a civil lawsuit. I mean how do you even quantify a criteria where you must report any and all alleged wrong doings? What then qualifies as wrongdoing? If some player cheats on his girlfriend does the NFL have to be notified if that girlfriend hired a PI to investigate the infidelity? Talk about a slippery slope.
April 24th, 2018 at 1:19 am
Joe, maybe you provide some clarity here. My understanding of the incident was that Uber informed Jameis that they were suspending/terminating his account over email and did not provide details as to why. I seem to recall that Jameis didn’t really dispute or question it.
If that is the case and he knew (or thought) he did nothing wrong, then what exactly would he be reporting? His Uber account was suspended? How would that violate the NFL’s conduct on policy?
I could be wrong but seem to remember him reporting to have no knowledge of her allegation until the report came out. You’d have to re-read everything. sorry. There’s a lot to it. –Joe
April 24th, 2018 at 1:38 am
***************
The story “Kate” is telling has grown bigger and bigger over time … sort of like the tales of catching a huge fish your Grandpa used to tell.
I’m quite sure that her original complaint to Uber referenced “some big NFL player” and stated that this person “put his fingers on my crotch”.
According to Jameis’ lawyers she couldn’t even identify the person that touched her as being Jameis.
Later she claimed it was Jameis and said that he placed his hand on her crotch for 3-5 seconds.
Most recently it was reported she’s saying that Jameis “grabbed” her crotch.
I mean, come on …
It’s no wonder her attorney refused to even file a civil case against Jameis … not only would have Jameis have won but he would have won a countersuit and all attorney and court costs as well.
This is such a non-story …
I applaud Joe for his research and the NFL “could” use a “technicality” to suspend Jameis but I highly doubt that happens … at worst I think they hit Jameis with a very negligible monetary fine.
***************
April 24th, 2018 at 1:47 am
Hey Betterbuccibbelieveit!, Name ANY incident Jameis has been involved in since becoming a Pro? He is been great in the community, always involved with kids whether his football camps or visiting schools. I don’t know what you want from Jameis. He is a good person and I am happy he is OUR QB. Your probably a Gator & if Jameis had gone to Florida you would never say a word. When you say history of bad decisions you are incorrect.
April 24th, 2018 at 3:12 am
This posting is so tabloidish…It sounds to me some on here think you should pay a penality just because you are accused, whether true or false.
I get so tired of the Joe’s beating the drums for a JW suspension! Why make things up like this? –Joe
SMH…anything for clicks That’s funny. If Joe were like that, Joe would play some stories bigger than others and run a daily rumors column, and use many other tactics for clicks, as you call them. –Joe
April 24th, 2018 at 3:20 am
If the NFL punishes Jameis in any way for not reporting the complaint, then the accuser’s lawyer will go after Jameis in a civil lawsuit- they don’t have any evidence now, but NFL may provide accuser with “punishment evidence “ they need to get money settlement- it’s typical lawyer BS
April 24th, 2018 at 4:16 am
Kate’s attorney missed the filing deadline for a civil suit … the statute of limitations passed last March … which is lucky for Kate as Jameis would have crushed her in court and won the suit, won his counter suit and won all attorney and court costs as well imho.
I still think this is a non-story and that, at the most, Jameis gets a small fine … I just don’t think he gets suspended based on an accusation with no proof at all.
April 24th, 2018 at 4:41 am
This team is always dripping in controversy. When it comes to Jameis, all the signs were there pre-draft that he was oozing with controversy and his immature behavior has permeated this team with his childish antics. He might be a rah rah guy but a leader you can count on, on and off the field, not so much at this time.
April 24th, 2018 at 4:44 am
Jaboo,
Uber reached out to JW , vm, to inform him of a suspension of services based on the driver reported a complaint against Him of Inappropriate behavior. He was asked to contact them before his account was cancelled. He was informed of the allegation made against Him shortly after the incident. But didn’t respond which lead to the company cancellation of his account.
The NFL’s investigation against Winston of Inappropriate behavior is the same incident that prompted Uber’ s notification and subsequent cancellation of his account. You can not claim ignorance about the incident at this point.
Note, JW has made a public statement in response to the NFL investigation. JW read a prepared statement to the press. In his statement he claimed He had contacted Uber about the incident and they (Uber) “decided to cancel my membership anyway”.
Let that sink in for a moment……
Winston denies the claims made by Uber while simultaneously admitting he knew about the claims and specifically to the nature of them. Yet amazingly He told no one. Not even his agent. An agent is to a professional athlete
April 24th, 2018 at 4:51 am
is like a confession booth for a Catholic. You tell both everything. I mean everything. Why because both are in the same business only difference is the how they define expiration and renewal.
Point is had he done what he is expected to do, his agent would have saved his soul.
April 24th, 2018 at 5:47 am
@Nfl,
You’re off base on the fish story analogy. The problem is not the story growing it’s
that the reports of the story are a composite of different sources.
To this point in time, all of the (I can’t say victim) statements are extremely consistent and there is no “inconsistencies” to be found. Even if you believe that there is it’s immaterial to the current proceedings and therefore irrelevant at this point.
The point about “Kate” not being able to identify JW as the person who committed said acts, is not a reported fact. It’s the words of JW’s attorney . The hired
representative of a defendant is not a great source for unbiased information. But that aside, it’s not important in the least bit to the current situation.
Nfl if you’re thinking that I’m disagreeing with you, you’re on the wrong path.
I say it in anticipation of a reaction. A reaction that I’m confident can be mitigated by disclosing it prior to your response.
April 24th, 2018 at 5:54 am
Joe, if that is the policy, why aren’t players being suspended for it routinely. Merely a closeted accusation from a random person to their friends involving an unwitting player makes the player subject to suspension????????!!!?!!!?! That’s insane. Like, please challenge that in court. Please. Please. That’s the craziest GD thing I’ve ever heard in my life.
I understand what the NFL was trying to do with that policy. But the wording, as you pointed out in the comments above makes no rational sense. In that case Reuben Foster is toast either way. Either he hit the girl, or he didn’t and it’s #fakenews and he’s gunna get roasted for not reporting what he didn’t know.
April 24th, 2018 at 6:20 am
Tandyman…..it’s “moot” not mute.
April 24th, 2018 at 6:35 am
I think this is crazy for one why did it take her this long to say something, and why would he report this if he didn’t do it. It’s all about money, maybe she want a book. If something happen to me I will report it then.
April 24th, 2018 at 6:39 am
So when did Jameis know is the question. The voice mail from Uber just stated that” you or someone in your party acted inappropriately and your account is suspended”. Was there follow up by Uber to tell him of the charges? If he was not in the front seat and did nothing wrong as he says, would reporting your Uber account status fall under the league policy? Lol
April 24th, 2018 at 6:56 am
This is societal BS creeping into the NFL. An accusation and account cancellation is enough to warrant any formal response. ESP from a player who’s had this happen before and been found to be innocent. But in this ridiculous ‘believe the victim in the Andersen of evidence’ culture we live in… he’s toast
April 24th, 2018 at 6:57 am
Absense
April 24th, 2018 at 6:57 am
@Webster…dude…really..I’ve read some comments on this site that obviously come.from undereducated people, but you are really pushing for that top prize. If the allegation could possibly be true, and would violate conduct policy, it has to be reported. The allegations don’t have to be proven true for it to require reporting. What exactly are you missing?
April 24th, 2018 at 7:02 am
Great work Joe!
However I think the suspension is going to be 6 games. We still don’t know the third person in the vehicle. Which makes me believe, it was a female accompanied with Darby with winston being in the passenger seat.
I believe winston is guilty. He kept his mouth shut for months and didn’t tell anyone about it. If he was innocent and thought it could come back, he would have informed the Bucs.
People forget, winston was drafted 1st overall even after all these allegations and questions behind his character were out there.
I think winston is an immature clown on and off the field and isn’t worth keeping. I’ve been a diehard Bucs fan since I started watching the game and it disappointing that winston is our qb.
If I’m Jason Licht, and it’s june and the Bucs get word on the suspension, I’m calling Philadelphia and giving up a pick for Nick Foles.
April 24th, 2018 at 7:03 am
The best I can hope for is that JW would realize his celebrity and guard himself from any appearance of doing something considered morally or ethically wrong. It’s not college anymore. There are those with agendas who would love to bring him down and collect a settlement. Sad days we live in but that seems to be the reality of it. Thanks, Joe, for your clear and concise reporting.
April 24th, 2018 at 7:06 am
Excellent Research and I can definitely see Goddell suspending Jameis over failing to report just because of bleep commissioner he is.
One question – has any player ever been suspended over this technicality?
April 24th, 2018 at 7:14 am
Thank you Chris !!!!
April 24th, 2018 at 7:17 am
Joe can you explain to us exactly how are you suppose to report something you are not aware of?! Specially when you where not the culprit?! The real question here is why did the Uber driver take so long to report to authorities?!
April 24th, 2018 at 7:18 am
The key words: “disciplinary action”. Suspension is not a given and might be a precedent. How come we never hear of failure to report suspensions being handed out by the league? The league is going to tack on to violation suspension due a reporting failure. How many other players have failed in this manner and were not publically reprimanded by the league?? This would be the first case, I believe, that this rule would be enforced, and the league would being making an example out of Winston. I don’t see how the player’s union would not rally behind him especially with the 2020 union contact negotiations upcoming…
April 24th, 2018 at 7:19 am
Err, how come we never hear the league tacking on to violation suspensions or doling out solo suspensions due to reporting failure??
April 24th, 2018 at 7:26 am
So, wait, we’re now saying if anyone accuses an NFL player of anything, and the player doesn’t report it, they’ll be suspended? There is no way in hell Goodell doesn’t see the incredible danger in this. EVERYONE would be reporting EVERY player on teams they don’t like. These are 100% unsubstantiated claims with witnesses to prove it didn’t happen.
Suspend Winston and you’re going to get a metric sh*t tonne of accusations against every QB in the league… heck, every Pro-Bowl player and All-Pro. Goodell would be a freaking moron to suspend Jaboo. It’s that simple.
April 24th, 2018 at 7:28 am
Anyone that thinks the Joe’s want Jameis suspended are insane The Joe’s are even more Jameis messiah worshippers then you db55 but like you always say wthdik?
The answer is nothing.
April 24th, 2018 at 7:34 am
Joe… Hang in there…if you said nothing and he was suspended for non-reporting, they would be climbing your backside saying you missed it. Sometimes one just can’t win….Learned that at old ISU.
BTW…Nut et. al. sometimes sounds like the swinebird Parrot that will be announcing our third day pick.
April 24th, 2018 at 7:45 am
YAWN! Joe posts unbiased relevant information. Posters plaster Joe.
It’s hard to comment on something that nobody outside the NFL office has any idea about.
Thanks for the update Joe. If he is suspended for that, I’d say that’s pretty weak!
April 24th, 2018 at 7:58 am
Reports coming out now that the third individual that was in th uber car that night was Raheem Morris
April 24th, 2018 at 8:15 am
Chris,
This is exactly how I feel. Been a Bucs fan since I sat in the stands for their first preseason game in 1976. My first wife was part of the original Bucs organization until 1981. Makes it hard to root for them with Winston QBing them. I hope we draft his replacement.
April 24th, 2018 at 8:18 am
the reporting criteria as of March wasn’t specific to this incident. That’s why no one is moving forward with it. Non-story.
April 24th, 2018 at 8:18 am
Hopefully when the NFL factors in Jameis’s immaturity level they will show a bit of compassion and give him the appropriate punishment and have to write 100 times…
“Failure to report an incident will be grounds for disciplinary action. This obligation to report is broader than simply reporting an arrest; it requires reporting to the league any incident that comes to the club’s or player’s attention which, if the allegations were true, would constitute a violation of the Personal Conduct Policy.”
April 24th, 2018 at 8:21 am
@Altered- I remember those days! Either that, or the RULER to the knuckles! Not the throwing hand though!
April 24th, 2018 at 8:25 am
As fans, we need to let this play out. I agree there is a window for suspension based on the conduct policy. It is also true that the NFLPA terms at the time of the incident will be applied from a legal perspective.
My biggest question is did he tell his agent? If yes, shame on the agent as he gambled threw Winston under bus with bad advice. If no, well you have to question #3 judgment. Will that show up at game time? It could.
The NFL is the wildcard here. Simply put, you cant predict Goodell and his boys. They have the power.
April 24th, 2018 at 8:33 am
I had to read to rule several times to completely understand ……
that said….to the poster with a dictionary named after him…
the jury and voting system scare the crap out of me….SMH
April 24th, 2018 at 8:35 am
Also this rule is ripe for sabotage abuse ….Joe please post the visiting team hotels…if ya know what I’m saying Vern….
April 24th, 2018 at 9:24 am
As is with any discipline decision, a general statement, past history is taken into consideration….this is where the real weight of the punishment will come from….gawd..why do we even have to be talking about this…….
April 24th, 2018 at 9:32 am
Does Uber even tell you the exact reason why your account is suspended?
April 24th, 2018 at 9:34 am
It doesn’t help that the title of the article is inflammatory. “Expect” implies the suspension is a done deal.
April 24th, 2018 at 10:27 am
@SPBF…….that’s the one thing that calmed me about this whole incident after reading the rule. At the very worst it looks like a single game suspension but, I’m really hoping it’s nothing more than a simple fine if anything.
For all we know Goodell could be planning to pull a parrot out of his ass and have it read Jameis his punishment.
April 24th, 2018 at 10:28 am
lets keep it real…….JW will have to sit, not sure how long but so what!!!!!……where are all the “its a team game” crowd?……
no one should be worried about the situation because this staff has had ample enough time to create a plan and should be prepared for the worse…..
folks are in a panic because they know JW has made this staff(dirk) look better than they are and without JW, they’ll fall flat on their face……we all know this staff has shown the inability to adjust or get creative…..
I pray JW isn’t suspended but if he is, i’ll be excited to see what this staff can do…..will they fold and make excuses?…..will they show the football world they mean business?……time will tell……
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!!
April 24th, 2018 at 11:19 am
Nothing out of the ordinary here. But again, it is just the beginning. The bigger part is if he deceived/lied to the NFL and owners about the third guy, still not publicly known. That’s worth a couple of games under precedence seen with Brady. Lack of third person and lack of reporting can lend one to believe something happened. Back to this for me: Jameis needs to come clean on the third dude. It is him, him alone, screwing the fans by not doing so, which includes this season by longer suspension and in the future, by leaving the owners no choice but to move on because their face of the franchise can’t be trusted….*IF* indeed, Jameis doesn’t come clean and IF he is found to be the only dude in the car. As a minimum, JW’s judgement and full honesty is suspect given the rule violation. Nothing new on that though. Joe and others reported that already. But I think there is more to come based on that alone.
April 24th, 2018 at 11:32 am
Chris, I mostly agree with you. I will not say I believe he is guilty, because I don’t know enough. Not how I roll. But I believe there is plenty to make it appear he hid the incident, which makes his side a little less believable than his accusor’s side. What amplifies her word against his is he hasn’t named the third person. If he has disclosed that to the NFL, and it’s confirmed, I think he gets one game. If he hasn’t, that’s two counts of evading provision of the truth and really leaves Goodell with no alternative but to suspend him for more than one game. I’m betting four games total for not telling the full truth/cooperating (Brady territory) and one or two more if he’s actually found to have been alone in the car. The latter may not be “fair” but it’s not a legal issue at this point. For him, the Bucs drop his option, and move on. This is better for fans in the long run but devastating for JW. I simply hope he has disclosed the details already to someone. If he hasn’t, the Bucs should move on.
April 24th, 2018 at 11:40 am
This is too disturbing to contemplate …
April 24th, 2018 at 11:43 am
BetterBucc….Florio has already weighed in when the SOL passed. No lawsuit and JW still not telling who the third person was makes her story look more believable than his. I am interested in Florio’s follow up too, but this is not a legal issue…unless JW challenges the CBA and commissioners authority. That will a be sleeper and I’d bet JW would lose….like Brady did. The best Bucs fans can hope for is that JW did tell the NFL/team the whole truth and it’s just one game and/or a fine. This doesn’t feel like that though.
April 24th, 2018 at 12:12 pm
Well the Bucs are in great shape for drafting a QB….the would rock the draft shows….the trend sometimes is not your friend
April 24th, 2018 at 12:21 pm
What if Bucs traded Winston to CLE move to the 4th overall pick; let’s Cleveland get a QB (JW3) and Barkley (RB), while the Bucs get either Mayfield (QB) or Darnold (QB), with Fitz as the mentor. No, I don’t want to see this happen and don’t think it would…but would be a crazy twist.
April 24th, 2018 at 12:28 pm
I don’t think anyone would trade for Jameis this year….if the Bucs took a QB at 7…the franchise would let stuff sort itself out over the next 2 years and then either continue with Jameis and trade the 2018 QB….or let Jameis move on after his 5 years and go with the 2018 QB….for those with poor reading comprehension this is message board hypothetical
April 24th, 2018 at 12:34 pm
Roy T. Buford Says:
April 24th, 2018 at 11:43 am
BetterBucc….Florio has already weighed in when the SOL passed. No lawsuit and JW still not telling who the third person was makes her story look more believable than his. I am interested in Florio’s follow up too, but this is not a legal issue…unless JW challenges the CBA and commissioners authority. That will a be sleeper and I’d bet JW would lose….like Brady did. The best Bucs fans can hope for is that JW did tell the NFL/team the whole truth and it’s just one game and/or a fine. This doesn’t feel like that though.
———————
Brady lost because A) he broke nfl playing rules and B) he tried undermine the investigation by destroying evidence. On the other hand, Jameis has been cooperative, and the allegation doesnt pertain to actual nfl playing rules where the nfl should have the right to jurisdiction over its own set of rules. The matter is apples to oranges, and Winston definitely would have a case to challenge the nfl’s authority in this process.
In regards to the third person, Winston does not have to reveal who the witness is, and for the third person’s sake, they want their identity to remain anon. to avoid media scrutiny and other issues. Not revealing the third person has nothing to do with his guilt or innocence!
April 24th, 2018 at 1:08 pm
Guys what are you saying. We just found out the NFL does not believe the girls accusations. If they DID…Jameis would be sitting at least 4…maybe six or more games depending on their evidence.
They are NOT suspending him for any sexual act…simply for failing to follow a league’s administrative rule.
#3 is not going anywhere. We’re not even contemplating trading him. Where do you guys come up with this stuff. Jameis is a Buc….get used to it.
April 24th, 2018 at 1:25 pm
StPete…and in general I wish there was an option here to message back channel…as there are on a few sites I participate in…
April 24th, 2018 at 1:49 pm
StPeteBucsFan – So as I said to start with, can I make an allegation against Drew Brees for child abuse for allowing his kids to run around on the sidelines of the Pro Bowl, I mean he had his kid running onto the field during a play. If I send him a letter saying you’re alleged of this by me does he need to report that to the NFL? I have as much authority as Uber does. Can any fan just go around allegeding things against players they don’t like – I mean if that’s the bar, you don’t need to file any paperwork or anything, just say I accuse someone of something, will every single alligation have to be reported? Who even keeps track of that?
This is nonsense. If there is an allegation of criminal wrongdoing then there has to be some civil or legal action. Again go back to my example, say a player is accused of cheating on his wife by his wife, that is adultery, does the player need to let the team know there is an allegation of adultery against him?
There is no way the NFL acts on this as it opens up a pandora’s box of unintended consequences.
April 24th, 2018 at 1:59 pm
Rod…gawd I hope so…however they have every resource possible to investigate….they should also be quick in announcing no evidence to back up this claim….they can always readdress later if some new evidence come forward…for the NFL the take so long on a simple “claim”…is inexcusable
April 24th, 2018 at 2:09 pm
To be perfectly honest, I am about done with the NFL in general and Roger Goodell in particular. They just don’t handle anything controversial well. Every time something comes up, whether it’s this or Ray Rice or whatever, they come across as clumsy and inept at media relations. It forces them into a reactionary position based on perception as opposed to correctly framing a narrative.
April 24th, 2018 at 3:05 pm
Assuming there is nothing more here than said “failure to report”,
unless there is language in the CBA which states the piece of the personal conduct policy being referenced as “failure to report” is retroactive then the league can process whatever disciplinary action they wish vs. Winston. It will not, however, hold up if he appeals whatever the action is.
The Gray area is Joe’s imagination. It is cut and dried.
Why insult Joe. There’s actually a lot of gray area, including how the NFL could reasonably interpret the current policy as it ties to unresolved/unreported matters that happened under the very similar prior conduct policy. Additionally, predicting the outcome of a potential appeal is very difficult.–Joe
April 24th, 2018 at 4:02 pm
GREG
BRAVO!!!!
COULDNT HAVE SAID IT BETTER!!!!!
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
April 24th, 2018 at 4:24 pm
Man I’m done with this . Let’s get back to football. He’s inercent so let’s leave along.
April 24th, 2018 at 4:36 pm
This might get me kicked off for the way I am saying this. Jameis should sue the b—- and Uber for making a false statement.
April 24th, 2018 at 4:42 pm
@feelpewterpower: The only comparison between JW and Brady that I made was that the only LEGAL issue is challenging the authority/CBA/decision. The rest is up to the the NFL and how Goodell “feels.” I did not compare the cases themselves. Since you mention it, Brady broke no laws…only NFL rules. He never put his hands on a woman, and any evidence he destroyed was not related to a crime….subject only to NFL discipline. I am not saying Jameis did anything that was a crime, and certainly this is not a criminal or civil case as far as we know. He did violate NFL rules, and that said, the third person is very much an issue because that’s what Jameis hangs his whole argument on. Not telling the full truth and providing false evidence (if this were a legal issue) to an NFL investigation would not be as serious as destruction of evidence because evidence may be gone forever. Still, since this is not a legal issue it may be the only thing that gets Jameis off the hook with Goodell and presumption of lying (as a minimum) or worse. When adding that to the fact he didn’t report it, looks mighty suspect. So I think you are wrong when saying the third person has nothing to do with “guilt” or “innocence.” You can’t say there is a witness if there is not. In fact, it has everything to do with it. JW and the NFL don’t have to disclose who the third person is, but JW best tell the NFL to have any chance of getting off with just the failure to report. Why do you think protecting the other person’s identify is an issue at all? Who is protecting it? The NFL? Not. JW? Dumb if he is. I stand by my original point. One game suspension maybe if Jameis demonstrates he did not lie/deceive and did not appear (to Goodell) to have grabbed her. If he can demonstrate he didn’t do it with the third person, he may get off with a fine for being it moron and not reporting it. Don’t confuse the law with the NFL code of conduct. To say JW has cooperated fully is only true if he has disclosed the full truth. I don’t know if he has or not.
April 24th, 2018 at 4:49 pm
For those of you complaining about the fact of having to report an incident, as Joe outlined the rule clearly, like it or not, petty or not, an accusation does need to be reported. Accusing someone falsely of a crime is a legal issue all it’s own…so only an idiot runs around making baseless accusations (though it does happen). Let’s hope JW’s failure to report is worst it is, and that he’s told the NFL who the third guy is and that is corroborated. The NFLPA, by the way, agreed to the rules, so they are not exactly going to run out and scream “foul.” In fact, they may be fine with a decision to sit JW as it shows they are abiding by the rules, and that Goodell gets to protect his shield. JW can be the sacrificial lamb. Maybe they make a halfhearted plea to keep discipline as a fine…and that will probably ONLY be if JW told the NFLPA everything along with the NFL. It’s up to JW how hard this gets on him, and hopefully he’s come clean…otherwise, he’s screwing the fans and the owners.
April 24th, 2018 at 7:40 pm
Not over ’til the fat lady sings.
April 24th, 2018 at 8:09 pm
Roy T. Buford Says:
April 24th, 2018 at 4:42 pm
@feelpewterpower: The only comparison between JW and Brady that I made was that the only LEGAL issue is challenging the authority/CBA/decision. The rest is up to the the NFL and how Goodell “feels.” I did not compare the cases themselves. Since you mention it, Brady broke no laws…only NFL rules. He never put his hands on a woman, and any evidence he destroyed was not related to a crime….subject only to NFL discipline. I am not saying Jameis did anything that was a crime, and certainly this is not a criminal or civil case as far as we know. He did violate NFL rules, and that said, the third person is very much an issue because that’s what Jameis hangs his whole argument on. Not telling the full truth and providing false evidence (if this were a legal issue) to an NFL investigation would not be as serious as destruction of evidence because evidence may be gone forever. Still, since this is not a legal issue it may be the only thing that gets Jameis off the hook with Goodell and presumption of lying (as a minimum) or worse. When adding that to the fact he didn’t report it, looks mighty suspect. So I think you are wrong when saying the third person has nothing to do with “guilt” or “innocence.” You can’t say there is a witness if there is not. In fact, it has everything to do with it. JW and the NFL don’t have to disclose who the third person is, but JW best tell the NFL to have any chance of getting off with just the failure to report. Why do you think protecting the other person’s identify is an issue at all? Who is protecting it? The NFL? Not. JW? Dumb if he is. I stand by my original point. One game suspension maybe if Jameis demonstrates he did not lie/deceive and did not appear (to Goodell) to have grabbed her. If he can demonstrate he didn’t do it with the third person, he may get off with a fine for being it moron and not reporting it. Don’t confuse the law with the NFL code of conduct. To say JW has cooperated fully is only true if he has disclosed the full truth. I don’t know if he has or not.
————-
The legal issue pertaining to Brady gave Goodell the autonomy to suspend Brady because it pertained to an NFL rules violation. Much different incident than Winston’s alleged sexual misconduct. If Goodell tries to suspend Winston without concrete evidence there will be objections made to Goodell’s autonomy in this matter. No police report made, no lawsuit, just kangaroo court which won’t fly from the players union. Yes, Zeke was suspended without a conviction but the NFL had evidence the code of conduct. I iterated that not revealing the third person has nothing to do with Winston being innocent or guilty. Again, Winston is not legally obligated to disclose this information publically. Winston has turned over his phone which has his uber account info, which would in turn tell the NFL if he was alone that night or had other riders along with him. The accuser states she was alone with Winston in the front seat. The NFL would definitively need to prove this to be the case in order to state he broke the code of conduct. The fact that NFL has not levied any suspension yet tells me there is not enough evidence to determine any alleged wrong doing his part. Joe mentions a failure to report policy but this incident took place in 2014 when the policy specified that teams must report the incident which would not make Winston culpable of his team’s inaction or lack of knowledge. Any failure to report suspension would likely get appealed and thrown out.
April 24th, 2018 at 8:47 pm
FeelthePewter…you don’t seem to grasp this is not about what Winston is legally obligated to do or not. He doesn’t have to do ANYTHING legally. But he can and will likely still get nailed for breaking NFL conduct policy. It is not illegal to stay home from work. But try that for a few weeks and see where it gets you.
April 24th, 2018 at 8:51 pm
This is not a promotional forum and Joe deletes dozens of links daily. Sadly, that story has inaccuracies and grossly misrepresents Joe. –Joe
April 24th, 2018 at 9:41 pm
How the hell does this accuser and/or Uber not report this to Law Enforcement immediately after it happened. Then it would have come up without Jameis not even having the time to tell anyone. Uber knew about it and all the did was delete his account? That’s gross.
“Mr. Winston we’re going to have to suspend your account because one of our driver’s informed us you grabbed her by the p-$$y (locker room talk), but if you want to sign up with a different card for a new account we shouldn’t have a problem.” – Uber
April 24th, 2018 at 11:06 pm
There is no chance disciplinary action based on the reporting aspect of the conduct policy not agreed to until after this event occurred will hold up upon appeal. Joe’s imagination is running wild. This is as cut and dried as it can get.
Joe didn’t write about appeals. Joe merely presented the facts. And the prior policy makes it clear that players have an
“obligation to report.” The NFL and the union just clarified the language in the second policy regarding that process and responsibility. Players were operating under the knowledge that they have to report every accusation to the team, like it or not, agreed to in their labor agreement. Joe’s not lobbying against Jameis or rooting against him, but making wacky assumptions like this is ludicrous. Suppose the NFL investigates and asks the Bucs whether Jameis and Bucs players were advised prior to the Uber date in question to report all allegations? If the Bucs say. ‘Jameis knew he had to report, all our players were brought up to speed,’ then good luck with an appeal. Same would be true if the NFLPA had educated player as a group, which they do. There are other scenarios. Joe hopes the NFL does a legit investigation that allows them to easily not care about reporting because they have 100 percent belief in Jameis’ story. Joe’s been begging for that legit and timely investigation all along.–Joe
Winston will not be disciplined for any non reporting. If there is information within the woman’s claim or Winston’s actions he may face disciplinary action.
April 25th, 2018 at 12:51 am
This is REALLY simple.
1. Was the requirement to report in place at the time of the incident?
NO – The requirement was implemented in the fall to an incident that happened in the spring in the same calendar year.
2. Was there a pending charge to be proven?
NO – no police filing, no Uber investigation, no civil suit.
Case closed – Why is this even a conversation? The is silly talk.
April 25th, 2018 at 7:07 am
Good luck, young single guys. Trying to mate without a lawyer is now something that can ruin your life and career.
April 25th, 2018 at 9:07 am
Joe, please put out a article inviting everyone to name their selection for the dumbest post in this series. It’s a very tough choice, but I’m leaning towards “Crotch grabbing is not a sexual assault, at least under Florida Law.” This remark fails to a. realize this does not involve the law, but NFL policy and b. the incident in question took place in Arizona, not in Florida.
April 25th, 2018 at 5:08 pm
Joe’s article focuses on the current policy. The current policy will not hold up and yes, appeals certainly matter and should be discussed.
To Jim: How about the original article by Joe. That’s my nomination.
April 26th, 2018 at 1:12 am
“Shhhhh! If we stops talking about it, everyone will forget and it will all go away…”
~ NDog
Frankly, that is the kind of thinking that is getting him suspended, probably.
——————————-
“They just don’t wanna see a black man get ahead!”
~ DB55
April 27th, 2018 at 1:00 pm
Webster I know it wasn’t worded that way but that is what it means. I can’t wait till this is all over as well but I don’t thnk joes post is going to change the outcome or cause our gm to slip in the draft (his great trade down n pick proves it didn’t). Wouldn’t be much of a gm if it did.
I do agree with u that it needs to not be talked about anymore cuz I think the NFL has done nothing cuz there’s no prove n they have egg in their face so they r hoping it just goes away imo
April 30th, 2018 at 10:16 pm
If there was no incident then there was nothing to report . What a crock ! Anyone can make any deal Salicious accusation and a player has to in form the NFL of any crackpot ! Ridiculous !
April 30th, 2018 at 10:29 pm
Didn’t Uber tell Jameis why his account was suspended?