TALLAHASSEE, FLA. – Florida State has suspended Jameis Winston for the entire game against Clemson on Saturday, extending its initial punishment of one half after the quarterback made "offensive and vulgar" comments about female anatomy earlier this week.
Interim President Garnett S. Stokes and athletic director Stan Wilcox announced the decision late Friday night. There had been criticism that the original punishment for Winston's latest embarrassing off-field incident was too light.
The statement released by the university Friday read, "Based upon the results of our continuing investigation of Tuesday's incident involving Jameis Winston, we have decided to not play him for the entire game against Clemson on Saturday night."
Several students tweeted Winston stood on campus and shouted a lascivious comment that may have derived from an Internet meme.
A university spokeswoman told the Associated Press on Friday night that Stokes was not available for comment; Wilcox could not be reached.
The university also had initially announced that Winston would face internal discipline. Officials did not say why Winston was benched for just a half, and they didn't provide details of the internal punishment.
Coach Jimbo Fisher was asked about the half-game suspension on Thursday and said: "We're in charge. It's our team. That's what we thought. We went with the consequences and we're ready to move on."
Fisher also said after that practice that the president and athletic director are always involved in university policy, but he declined to answer when asked if it's normal for them to be involved in team discipline.
