Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 7-17-18

Sports
Jameis Winston Snaps Back At Criticism Over T-Shirt Choice
JAMEIS WINSTON
Teddy Bridgewater Trade To Tampa Bay Buccaneers Makes Sense
TEDDY BRIDGEWATER
The New York Jets signed Teddy Bridgewa- ter to a one-year, $6 million contract with just $1 million in guaranteed money.
The contract is incentive- laden due to Bridgewater spending the majority of the past two years recovering from a nasty knee injury while he was with the Min- nesota Vikings.
After signing Bridgewa- ter and re-signing Josh McCown in free agency (one year, $10 million), the Jets traded up in the 2018 NFL Draft to select quarter- back Sam Darnold out of USC.
Reports out of Jets camp indicate that Darnold is looking like a potential opening-day starter, mean- ing Bridgewater’s pres- ence on the roster is superfluous.
The contract Bridgewa- ter signed is working in the Jets’ favor, as any team with a quarterback need at this point in the offseason would probably gladly take a risk on him for a mid-round pick.
One such team could be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as speculated by Michael Lombardi, a longtime NFL executive.
This type of a trade may be unlikely to happen and the Bucs will more likely just ride things out while Jameis Winston is sus- pended with Ryan Fitz- patrick, and take their chances with whatever hap- pens there.
Todd Gurley: NFL
Almost every NFL player who is accused of wrongdoing has to make sure that their actions mov- ing forward, no matter how seemingly silly or innocu- ous, do not upset the sensi- tivities of the public.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Win- ston has to take particular care, as he faces perhaps the most scrutiny of any player in the league follow- ing his three game suspen- sion over an incident with an Uber driver. Winston has found his actions being questioned once again, and he isn't particularly pleased.
On Friday morning, Winston posted a long video of a personal workout where his trainer, former NFL defensive end Otis Leverette, wore a shirt that read "Jameis Against the World". On the surface, the matter of Leverette's choice of apparel is a non- story: The shirts are, after all, produced by Nike and commercially available. However, enough thought that the shirt choice was tone-deaf in the wake of Winston's suspension that Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times was compelled to write a story concerning the matter.
"For some fans, the message wasn't what they wanted to see from some- one who publicly apolo- gized for actions that led to a three-game suspension, after strongly denying any wrongdoing when initially accused," wrote Auman. "Reaction on social media Friday was divided and strong from both sides."
After Auman doubled- down on his take on Twitter by saying that Winston and his party should have exercised better judgment, Winston himself took the opportunity to offer a re- sponse to Auman's mak- ing a story where the Bucs quarterback felt like none existed.
Winston wasn't neces- sarily alone in thinking the media reaction to his trainer's T-shirt was silly. An article concerning the situation on JoeBucsFan.com expressed that Auman's stance on the ordeal was laughable. "Perhaps it’s just, you know, a fun t-shirt his trainer likes to wear?", opined the webmaster.
With that said, not all that Auman had to report on Friday was critical of the Buccaneers' Pro Bowl quar- terback. Auman also had a nice story about how Win- ston, after he was finished with his training session, made a surprise visit to a nearby youth football camp and took the time out to in- teract with the children at the camp, much to their de- light. Winston's actions were very much appreci- ated by Porsche Taylor, an area High School teacher and the mother of one of the children.
"I'm a teacher, so you hear the different reactions even from the kids to him, what they read, what they hear," said Taylor. "I'm a season-ticket holder, so I've always seen him interact with fans in a positive man- ner. It was really cool today. It was very surprising, be- cause it wasn't planned."
NBA players are making a lot of guaranteed money, and their NFL counterparts are taking notice.
Los Angeles Rams run- ning back Todd Gurley admitted that NFL players are a bit jealous over the “crazy” money being handed out in NBA free agency.
“Us NFL players, we’re just mad about NBA con- tracts right now, that’s all,” Gurley said. “I just want like $80 million. Those guys are getting like $150 [mil- lion]. It’s crazy. It’s insane.”
Gurley’s comments were a follow-up to when he told TMZ earlier in the month that it would take a lockout for NFL players to start getting guaranteed money.
TODD GURLEY
Whereas the NBA and MLB both have widespread guaranteed contracts, it’s far less common in the NFL. There was some thought that one major free agent signing this summer may be a sign of that changing, but you can bet it’s something that players will want brought up in the next labor negotiations.
Players Are ‘Mad’
About NBA Contracts
Kellen Winslow
Released From Jail
Despite Multiple
Rape Charges
Kellen Winslow, II is facing charges stemming from the alleged sexual as- sault of multiple women, but the former NFL tight end was released from jail this week.
According to a report, Winslow posted $2 million bail and has been granted his release while his charges are pending. He has been ordered to remain on house arrest and must wear a GPS device at all times.
Winslow was initially arrested on suspicion of rap- ing two women in the San Diego area earlier this year, but prosecutors said Thurs- day they believe he is guilty of raping a third woman, de- scribed as a 17-year-old fe- male who was unconscious at the time Winslow al- legedly sexually assaulted her. Winslow is also ac- cused of breaking into a mo- bile home park on two separate occasions with the intent to rape an elderly woman.
Winslow’s alleged vic-
KELLEN WINSLOW, II
tims were in court to testify last week, and the allega- tions against the 34-year- old are very disturbing. However, the case took an interesting turn on Wednes- day when three women were unable to identify Winslow as the man who committed crimes against them. One woman pointed at Winslow's lawyer as the alleged suspect.
Due to the long list of charges he is facing, Winslow was initially being held without bail. It’s unclear why the judge had a change of heart.
PAGE 14 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2018