This week, former Georgia great Herschel Walker commented on the Heisman candidacies of Quarterback Jameis Winston and Running Back Todd Gurley. Speaking with ESPN’S much-beloved SEC czar Paul Finebaum, Walker expressed disappointment at the actions of the two stars, one of whom is suspended (Gurley) and the other close to it (Winston.) He let Finebaum know that as a Heisman voter, he wouldn’t be voting for either of the obvious statistical front runners this year, due to his belief that the Heisman should go to a player who showed both prodigious skill and off-the-field integrity, saying, “When I won the Heisman, I hope it stood for more than me just playing football.”
Although an admirable and important thing to say, there remains a bit of back up.
Todd Gurley, currently the best Georgia running back since Walker himself was firing up Sanford Stadium, was suspended from the university for allegedly receiving compensation for signing autographs. Gurley, whose greatest crime in his three years at Georgia has been being falsely accused of punching a man in an Athens bar, will likely miss the rest of the season, adversely affecting his team, Heisman chances, and professional future.
Jameis Winston, since the beginning his freshman year last August, has been caught shoplifting on multiple occasions, and has been apprehended for shooting at squirrels on campus with a BB gun, as well as causing almost $4,000 in damage with the same BB gun. Even more seriously, Winston was accused of rape during December of 2012, but a combination of highly questionable behavior by both the Tallahassee police department (according to the New York Times, the policeman to whom the case was reported – who has done private security work for Florida State boosters – declined to obtain a DNA sample or interview, nor did he attempt to procure the video of the alleged assault from Winston, even though his accuser had injuries consistent with sexual assault) and Florida State University (where the Times also found that university officials knew about the investigation for nearly a year before attempting to establish a dialogue with Winston) has allowed him to play unimpeded. Then, on October 14, Winston was accused of the same transgression as was Gurley, though he remains eligible to play.
The only direct connection between the two here is the autograph signing. However, over the last few years, public opinion has started to turn on the idea of “amateurism,” as fans have started to become privy to the incongruity between the term and the amount of money generated for the university on the backs of unpaid players. Support for paying players and/or allowing them to profit off of their own hard work has never been higher.
As far as Gurley’s suspension, there hasn’t been the level of righteous indignation from grumpy old men spouting off about “the purity of the college game” that there usually is. Ditto for Winston’s autographs.
Contrary to average expectations —Walker conflated the two players. He confessed to having not voted for Winston last season, during which he was a clear frontrunner, on account of his own suspicions about Winston’s integrity following the announcement of the rape allegation. In the same breath, he made his statement on the voting for this year.
One can imagine what Walker would say—disagree with the rules on autographs or not, they’re still the rules and a Heisman contender needs to follow them, which is a seemingly fair assessment. But consider that Geno Auriemma’s phone call to Mo’ne Davis was also “against the rules.” Rules can be ridiculous, and simply being a rule doesn’t make something sacrosanct.
It should go without saying that Gurley’s suspension is uncalled for, and Winston shouldn’t be criticized for his autograph escapades either. But for Walker to equate the actions of the two is wholly unfair, and for him to add that he would consider changing his vote if he “[saw] a change” in the behavior of the two, as if a few minutes of news coverage could possibly give a good representation of a person’s morality, is ridiculous.
Bernstein is a member of the class of 2018.
