Sullivan | Jameis Winston doesn't get it

To err is human. To make a habit of it is Jameis Winston.

Florida State's knucklehead quarterback owns a Heisman Trophy and a growing rap sheet that ranges from the criminal to the criminally stupid. He is a gifted two-sport athlete — a well-armed baseball pitcher when he's not shoplifting crab legs — who appears bent on a course of wanton self-destruction.

As an isolated incident, Winston's decision to stand on a table and shout sexually explicit vulgarities in a public place reveals a lack of taste, a surplus of immaturity and an astonishing lack of self-awareness. Yet when the culprit is considered in the context of a 2012 rape investigation botched by Florida State and local police, it was an outrage.

Florida State's reaction this time — initially a half-game suspension, increased to a full game late Friday as a result of undisclosed findings from a "continuing investigation" — shows that even the chronically tone-deaf can be roused to respond when the heat gets too high. Since the federal government is investigating FSU for its handling of sexual violence, suspending Winston for Saturday's game was important both symbolically and strategically for the school.

It could have been critically important competitively, too, but the top-ranked Seminoles managed to keep their undefeated streak alive in Winston's absence, outlasting Clemson in overtime, 23-17. It was a game Florida State was fortunate to win, a game that underscored both how vital Winston is to his team and how vulnerable it is without him.

Watching it from the sideline should have made a powerful impression on the 20-year-old player, heightening his sense of responsibility and reminding him of how fortunate he was that his conduct did not exact a severe cost on his team. Yet whether it had any therapeutic impact on him is unclear. In suiting up for the game while under suspension, donning shoulder pads and a helmet for pre-game warmups, Winston reinforced the perception that he does not see the consequences of his actions as either serious or irreversible.

Perhaps Winston simply wanted to take part in pre-game warmups as a sign of his solidarity with his teammates. Perhaps he was hoping FSU coach Jimbo Fisher might relent in a key conference game and allow him to play. Or perhaps Winston simply doesn't understand that "No" does not mean "Maybe."

You could see the exasperation on Fisher's face as he told Winston to leave the field and change into something more suitable. You could easily imagine university administrators squirming in their seats as the strange scene unfolded on national television. You can safely assume NFL scouts were rolling their eyes, shaking their heads and recalculating, again, Winston's risk/reward ratio.

Winston's athletic abilities are undeniable, but the multi-million dollar question NFL executives will be asking about him grows increasingly rhetorical: Do you really want the face of your franchise on the same head with that brain?

Though Winston has repeatedly apologized for his behavior, the frequency of his off-field issues makes his sincerity seem suspect. That Fisher continues to forgive him is a function of both paternalism and self-interest — what coach is going to forsake the player most responsible for his own crowning achievement? — but fans and alumni recognize that their school is being judged by the tolerance it has shown its most famous and infamous student and that those judgments grow more harsh with each new headline.

"You never know the pace kids learn or why they make mistakes," Fisher said Saturday night, "but I hope and believe Jameis will learn from this and use better judgment and his language and decision making and respect for everything will continue to grow."

Where a college student is concerned, hope should be virtually inexhaustible. Believing in Jameis Winston, however, demands proof he has not yet provided. In an appearance on Sirius XM radio, former Florida State star Deion Sanders said several former FSU players had tried to provide Winston with guidance, including Derrick Brooks, Warrick Dunn and Corey Fuller. He was unable to report meaningful progress.

"All of us have spoken (to) him and tried to lead him in the right direction," Sanders said. "But he's a grown man. You can't make a grown man do what he don't want to do. He's already walking around campus with a Heisman Trophy. Why do you need more attention?"

Jameis Winston does not need more attention. He needs to start paying attention.

Tim Sullivan can be reached at (502) 582-4650, by email at tsullivan@courier-journal.com, and on Twitter @TimSullivan714