why florida state should bench jameis winston

The following is my opinion. Agree, disagree, that's fine, but this is how I see it.

FSU QB Jameis Winston was informed that sometime this week, he'll be facing a disciplinary hearing concerning his alleged misconduct and charge of sexual assault from 2013. This is a total mess. While I don't always believe the NYTimes, they have released a damning report on Florida State's disciplinary--or lack thereof--actions, and there have been charges that FSU sorta, kinda hindered the whole investigation.

I don't know what to believe, to be honest with you. I'd like to believe that Winston is just a punk that does dumb stuff like steal crab legs and stand on tables and yell obscene things, like some college guys do, and not that he would actually be a rapist. However, with everything happening in our sports culture today, it would benefit all parties for Florida State to bench Winston indefinitely, until this is resolved.

The backup QB, Sean Maguire, did a dandy of a job defeating Clemson earlier this season, when Winston was suspended for a game for his little potty mouth stunt (but plays through all the sexual assault allegations), so I think Maguire would do a dandy of a job against Notre Dame. The next several FSU games wouldn't be difficult if Florida State is truly the most complete team that they are declared to be--Louisville, Virginia, Miami, Boston College and then Florida, all very winnable games.

Benching Jameis Winston allows Florida State to answer its critics, to show that it's doing something about it's latest reputation. It shows that they care about the integrity of its football team. It allows Winston to push through this latest bit of trouble without distractions, to get it resolved and be finished with all of it. 

We have witnessed Georgia suspending Todd Gurley for autographs, an NCAA illegality that forced Manziel to sit out half a game last year, and that Winston actually has had trouble with. We've seen Florida drop Treon Harris immediately, as soon as he was accused of sexual assault a few weeks ago. Gurley's fate is still up in the air, while Harris' accuser dropped the charges--Florida reinstated him immediately, but Harris still didn't play against LSU Saturday night, which probably cost the Gators the game, as Driskel was forced to play... the Gators lost late by 3. 

Jameis Winston has been accused of sexual assault and rape. The school has now been accused of being a little sketchy in their internal investigation. It's time to sit him for a game or two until everything its cleared up and the truth is discovered. 

My thoughts.