Jameis Winston tried to do the right thing, but when speaking to a group of third-to-fifth graders, he fumbled his chance to send a positive message at the one-yard line.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback gave back to his community, volunteering his time to speak to kids at Melrose Elementary in St. Petersburg. Winston’s intentions without a doubt were in the right place. But, after losing the room, he inserted his foot firmly into his mouth.
Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times reports Winston’s attempts to fire up boys turned into a somewhat-sexist diatribe about gender expectations.
“All my young boys, stand up. The ladies, sit down,” Winston said. “But all my boys, stand up. We strong, right? We strong! We strong, right? All my boys, tell me one time: I can do anything I put my mind to. Now a lot of boys aren’t supposed to be soft-spoken. You know what I’m saying? One day y’all are going to have a very deep voice like this (in deep voice). One day, you’ll have a very, very deep voice.
“But the ladies, they’re supposed to be silent, polite, gentle. My men, my men (are) supposed to be strong. I want y’all to tell me what the third rule of life is: I can do anything I put my mind to. Scream it!”
Even without factoring in the sexual assault allegations against him, Winston’s comments are obtuse. In an attempt to prop up the young men, he put down the young women in the room. Ladies doesn’t have to be silent or gentle and can act however they please.
Winston’s words have immense meaning. Here’s how a young girl reacted, according to the Times.
“One of the girls turned around and looked at [Melrose speech-language pathologist Bonnie Volland] and said, ‘I’m strong too.”
Winston issued an apology several hours later. He admitted using a “poor choice of words that may have overshadowed that positive message for some,” to interact with a bored attendee.
For most people, the comments would come across as a poor choice of words. For Winston, given his history, it’s downright idiotic, even if his intentions were in the right place. He’s got to be significantly more aware of the power of his words.
