Well, as expected, that certainly didn’t take long.
Four days ago, Florida State baseball manager Mike Martin announced that Jameis Winston had been indefinitely suspended from his squad after the two-sport star was cited for shoplifting seafood from a local supermarket. The suspension, which was endorsed by FSU football head coach Jimbo Fisher, would remain in place until the reigning Heisman Trophy winner completed 20 hours of community service required on the legal side of the equation.
Martin confirmed to the Tallahassee Democrat Sunday that Winston has been “reinstated” after "[h]e finished his community service” earlier in the day. Winston came straight from completing that stipulation in his citation and was in his baseball uniform for the Seminoles’ game against Minnesota.
The baseball suspension is expected to be the extent of punishment Winston will be facing from the athletic department as the player will not be on the receiving end of any type of punitive measures from his football coach.
As the Orlando Sentinel wrote, Winston’s “citation is not a criminal offense and does not require a suspension under FSU athletics’ code of conduct, but Martin and football coach Jimbo Fisher released statements indicating it was best for Winston to be removed from baseball play until he fulfilled all his legal obligations.”
Winston had apologized for the imbroglio in a lengthy statement for his “youthful ignorance” and understanding “that I am in the public spotlight and my conduct needs to be above reproach.”