No, Jameis Winston Didn't Make a Mistake Just Like Any Other College Kid

Since Glenn Logan over at A Sea of Blue has pretty thoroughly demolished the argument for Jameis Winston getting a handler, let's take a moment to look at something that provides a foundation for that request and drives me to distraction. To wit, comments like this:

Even in Winston's hometown, news of the shoplifting citation was met with a collective groan. To former coaches, teammates and classmates, it's the small mistake of a college kid but one Winston should be careful to avoid.

"I think some of the things that have happened are regular day-to-day life for the average student at Florida State," says Otis Leverette, a former NFL player who trained Winston in high school, "but their life is being viewed on a $10 microscope and his is being viewed on a $3 million microscope."

Says Richard Rabb, a high school teammate of Winston's: "I know a lot of people look at that like, he's doing all these bad things and he's not being a good role model. But I'm 19 and he's 20. I look at it like he's a kid. He's gonna make mistakes."

Now, it's been awhile since I was in college. Twelve years, in fact. But unless there's been an exponential increase in shoplifting since I was in college, I don't believe that walking out of a grocery story with $32 of seafood without paying for it represents "day-to-day life for the average student at Florida State."

Trying to get free soda at a Burger King, being questioned about an incident involving careless use of BB guns -- those things are perhaps typical of a student's life. Taking off with overpriced crab legs and crawfish, not so much.