Jameis Winston Tells Jim Harbaugh What Really Happened the Day He Got Caught Stealing Crab Legs

Crab legs will forever haunt Jameis Winston.

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

Almost exactly one year ago, former Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston got caught stealing crab legs from a Publix supermarket. The incident added another huge blemish to his résumé—and it led to more jokes than we could count at the time. But according to Winston, he didn't actually "steal" the crab legs.

Last night, ESPN aired Draft Academy and showed Winston speaking with Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and quarterbacks coach Jedd Fisch about what really happened that day at Publix. Harbaugh and Fisch are seen coaching Winston on what to tell NFL coaches and scouts about the incident. But Winston admits he's not sure exactly what he should say because he claims that the crab legs were given to him as a gift by a guy who worked at Publix.

“A week before, it was my buddy's birthday," he said, "and we had got a cake and we met a dude that worked inside Publix and he said, ‘Hey, anytime you come in here, I got you.' So that day we just walked out and he hooked us up with that. And when I came in to get crab legs, I did the same thing and he just gave them to me and I walked out. And someone from inside the store had told the security that I didn't pay for them. And that's how the whole thing started.”

Winston doesn't exactly have the best credibility in the world. But his story actually makes sense. Or at the very least, it makes more sense than Winston, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner at the time, walking into a Publix and stealing a bunch of crab legs.

Do you believe his version of what happened?

UPDATE:

As the Orlando Sentinel just pointed out, Winston's story could end up having an impact on Florida State. If the NCAA looks into it and finds that other FSU players received benefits from Publix, it could penalize the school for allowing players to receive impermissible benefits from the supermarket.

Send all complaints, compliments, and tips to sportstips@complex.com.

[via Sporting News]

Latest in Sports