Jameis Winston’s Attorney: He’s Not Ready to be an NFL Player Off the Field

On Friday, Jameis Winston’s attorney, David Cornwell, was one of the panel members at Villanova University’s Jeffery S. Moorad Sports Law Journal symposium. According to Joel Anderson of BuzzFeed, Cornwell spoke for over half an hour about the sexual assault allegation Winston faced two years ago.

Cornwell, who represented Ryan Braun and Ben Roethlisberger in their respective cases, took aim at what he calls the media’s “biased coverage” of Winston’s case. “The media only reported half the story,” Cornwell said. “It’s the first time we’ve seen the vilification of an athlete drop into amateur ranks at this level.”

In addition to discussing the Jameis’ rape allegation, Cornwell discussed his clint and those remarks may raise a few eyebrows.

Anderson was able to speak with Cornwell who expanded on those remarks:

"“I don’t see why it’s controversial that a 20-year-old doesn’t have the life experience to navigate the treacherous water of being a professional athlete without availing themselves of the resources available to them,” Cornwell said. “I don’t think he’s unique. I don’t think anyone is ready.”"

Earlier this week, Bleacher Report‘s Jason Cole reported that the Buccaneers still had some reservations about Winston’s off-the-field issues which have kept Marcus Mariota in the running for the No. 1 pick. Admittedly, I initially shrugged off the report, but after hearing Cornwell’s comments, I believe that the organization does have its concerns.

Is it enough to make them take Mariota instead? I don’t think so. Winston just turned 21-year-old. Of course, he had some moments of immaturity. Didn’t we all have a couple regrettable moments at his age? Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht made it clear that in the evaluation process, they needed to determine if Jameis was immature or a bad person. They’re leaning towards the former. I have to agree.

In interviews, Winston has repeatedly stressed that he has to earn an organization’s trust. Maybe he’s just blowing smoke, but the only way we will find out is if they select him first overall. Either quarterback is going to be a gamble. It all depends on which guy they feel more comfortable rolling the dice on.

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