On Saturday, Florida State Seminoles head football coach Jimbo Fisher got his team together and issued a ban on going to bars, according to Jim Henry of the Tallahassee Democrat. The move is reactionary to recent incidents in which both former quarterback DeAndre Johnson and running back Dalvin Cook are facing legal trouble after Johnson punched a woman, and Cook is being accused of battery against another woman.
It is disgusting and appalling how far Fisher is behind these issues. While the coach has no control over the conduct of his players once they are on the team, he certainly has control of who comes into the program. Furthermore, he has complete authority on their punishments once within the team structure.
Johnson was initially given an indefinite suspension while the program and local authorities looked into the matter. Then, when the video came out of Johnson brutally slugging a woman in the face (video in link above), Fisher and Florida State University got religion and kicked him off the team. You would think that after facing that firestorm, Fisher would have acted swiftly with the latest allegation against Cook. Nope, the exact same punishment.
Incredibly, some fans are actually signing a petition on Change.org to put Johnson back on the team. On the afternoon of July 11, a sad group of 3,611 have supported the petition.
Here is Fisher’s public statement on Friday about the ongoing issues with his players, per College Football Talk.
"“We spend a good deal of time educating our student-athletes about appropriate behavior and their responsibilities as representatives of Florida State,” Fisher said in a public statement Friday. “The majority of our players are exemplary, but clearly we must place an even stronger emphasis on this, and I personally promise we will.”"
Unless he’s expected to be the leading rusher on the team. Then, maybe, something will get done, at some point.
Fisher somehow believes that by banning his players from bars, they are suddenly going to clean up their collective acts. Right, like these kids aren’t going to do what every other college kid would and go to frat parties, house parties and other get-togethers on or around campus. The only difference is that now there are no security cameras, no bouncers, and a much higher burden of proof should something go down again.
Thank goodness for cell phone cameras.
Fisher has brought in questionable characters since taking over the Florida State program as head coach in 2010. Former quarterback Jameis Winston was recruited by Fisher and had a very high-profile alleged legal problem with a young woman, when he was accused of sexual assault in December of 2012. With Florida State getting ready for the National Championship game and Winston in the process of a Heisman-winning season, nothing was ever done.
The following season, Winston jumped up on a lunch table and screamed “F**k her right in the *****” and was suspended for one game. Nothing like a strong stance.
Fisher isn’t alone in acting like a coward at Florida State. School president John Thrasher had the following release to the press on Friday in conjunction with Fisher’s, per USA Today.
"“I am extremely disappointed to learn of this allegation against Dalvin Cook. I fully support the immediate and indefinite suspension of Cook from the football team while we look into this matter further and due process runs its course.“It is especially disheartening to learn of this case just days after Coach Fisher dismissed quarterback De’Andre Johnson from the team for his role in a physical altercation that occurred in an off-campus bar.“As I have previously said, I have no tolerance for the type of behavior alleged in these cases. We expect all of our students, especially our student-athletes who represent this university in the public spotlight, to adhere to the highest standards."
There is more to this gutless diatribe, but focus on that last paragraph. Thrasher has no tolerance for behavior alleged in these cases? So why did it take video to kick Johnson off the team and why is Cook still on it? The guy is alleged to have punched a woman several times in the face outside of a bar last month. Several times.
So why are Fisher, Thrasher and the rest of the university looking the other way? Money. Money. Money.
In 2013, Forbes released a report on how much money major college football programs are generating per year. Florida State was racking it in to the tune of $12.432 million for that campaign. In 2014, after another successful year that resulted in a national championship under Fisher, Florida State went from being No. 21 in royalties the year before to No. 8, grossing more than $4.58 million from merchandise alone that season, according to Darren Rovell of ESPN.
Everyone can rest easy, though. Fisher has ruled with an iron fist, decreeing that football-playing Seminoles can no longer go out to bars.
Whatever you do ladies, stay away from the house parties.