Respect: You Get What You Give

Jameis Winston ponders the after(football)life

I’m always intrigued when discussing how people deal with ethical dilemmas because rarely are they ever as cut and dried as we would like to believe they are. There is so much nuance to the world and if there’s one thing we could all be a little bit better at is to try and understand the other side a little bit more. The old “walk a mile in another man’s shoes” proverb.

In the final week of the NFL season, a situation occurred which begs the question: What would you have done?

The New Orleans Saints were battling the Atlanta Falcons in what would turn out to be a meaningless game, given that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were simultaneously securing the division title that was up for grabs.

Regardless, the game turned into a bit of a blowout for the Saints, who ended up winning 48-17.

The dilemma in question happened at the very end of the game, when the Saints scored an unnecessary touchdown - while in victory formation, no less - even though the game was effectively over at that point.

Falcons’ Head Coach Arthur Smith was none too pleased at what he considered a very unsportsmanlike act and let Saints’ Head Coach Dennis Allen have it during the post game handshakes.

He’s right.

It was a disrespectful move although you might be surprised at how many people supported Allen’s actions, using the standard argument about all being fair in love and war (and football).

Thing is, Coach Allen didn’t call that play. Backup quarterback Jameis Winston, who was finishing off the game for the starter, did. Turns out Winston was trying to do a favour for teammate Jamaal Williams, who had spent most of the 2023 season on Injured Reserve and was finally getting back into game action.

Williams, who scored 17 touchdowns in the previous season as a member of the Detroit Lions, would have ended his first season in New Orleans without a single touchdown had he not scored here.

So had Winston gone rogue or was he simply being a good teammate?

That's one of the many things up for debate.

And there’s been lots of it, with current and former players weighing in.

A large number supported Winston’s decision and called him a “great” teammate for doing what he did. At its core it could be looked at as a selfless act.

Others weighed in, with one in particular aligning strongly clarifying the situation.

Hall Of Famer Shannon Sharpe said this: “You’re in victory formation. The defense has already conceded. If you want to run the ball, line up (like usual).”

Sharpe went so far as to say he thinks Winston should be cut or traded and called the play ”loser’s mentality” for not only taking advantage of an opponent but also for the lack of sportsmanship.

First off, Winston overruled his coach. Yes, he may have impressed some of his teammates for what he did, he undoubtedly lost the trust of his coach. Unless Winston is willing to apologize in some meaningful way (publicly, since the transgression itself, was public) the Coach Allen will never again have his entire team’s respect (if he ever had it) and you can’t run any team with a dysfunctional chain of command.

Beyond that, Winston’s move didn’t really consider the big picture. Supporting a teammate, in the most earnest sense, is never a bad move but at what cost was that respect earned?

For Williams the touchdown will always be statistically tainted because it was done in an artificial situation, seeing as the Falcons assumed the game was basically over. The “white flag” formation was symbolic of that. And creating a stat simply because you can is just plain selfish. No matter who supports it.

By going rogue, Winston not only disrespected the Falcons but also his own head coach. Winston put scoring the touchdown ahead of so many other things that mattered, things bigger than the game itself.

There is so much to be learned from winning and losing both and whatever points Jameis Winston thinks he earned with this move, he lost a lot more in terms of the trust and respect for people beyond his teammates.

Moving forward, how could any coach have any semblance of confidence in Winston to carry out the game plan asked?

While it may sound harsh, Winston's unexpectedly selfless act was in fact a selfish one in which he put the relationship with his teammates above the reputation of his coach and of his team.

A quarterback, by the very nature of his leadership role on the team, should know better.

In the end it all comes down to the difference between having a record and having a legacy and the actions you take will ultimately determine exactly which one you deserve.