Pure Talent Doesn’t Equal Social Media Gold
Most of you are aware that I live in Florida. In the state of Florida, there are only a couple of important things. That list is not very long:
- Quirky individuals who do inexplicable things
- Sunshine
- Beaches
- College football
On Sunday, a few of those things came together in a way that could only happen in Florida. The story starts in earlier this year when Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston get busted for stealing crab legs from a local grocer.
Here it is … surveillance footage showing Jameis Winston STEALING CRAB LEGS … and it shows, dude is the most casual shellfish bandit of all time.
The footage, shot April 29th, shows the Heisman Trophy winner nonchalantly walking up to the seafood counter at Publix grocery store in Tallahassee … grabbing $32.17 worth of crab legs and crawfish … and walking out of the store without paying for it.
Fast forward from April to August when someone doing social media for Florida State University decides it’s a good idea to do a weekend Twitter chat featuring Winston using the hashtag #AskJamieis. It goes without saying that the event didn’t turn out well.
It started out innocently:
#Noles Fans: Do you have a question for our starting QB Jameis Winston? Tweet us using #AskJameis.
— FSU Football (@FSU_Football) August 10, 2014
Some of the first questions were innocuous:
@FSU_Football who’s the other starting receiver besides @RG80_ #askjameis
— THE REAL ZACH MORRIS (@Brett_og_Favre) August 10, 2014
but the entire chat quickly went south from there:
#AskJameis Which had a more profound impact on American antiBritish sentiment, the 1765 Stamp Act or the 1766 Declaratory Act? Cite examples
— Chris H (59-57) ⚾️ (@BamaChilld28) August 10, 2014
.@FSU_Football@ESPNCFB Lemon butter or garlic butter? #AskJameis
— Will (@whduncan) August 10, 2014
FSU doing #AskJameis was the worst idea since giving Skip Bayless a job. pic.twitter.com/YjxGYzeiPD
— NFL Humor (@NFootballLHumor) August 10, 2014
#AskJameis Of all the coaches you have played for over the years, why did you steal those crab legs?
— Fake Bo Pelini (@FauxPelini) August 10, 2014
#AskJameis if the Publix employees at check out are in zone coverage and you’re running a read-option with the crab legs, what do you do?
— Johnny Football (@JohnnyCleveIand) August 10, 2014
After 10 minutes, most of the comments, dealing with theft and rape and literacy became too ugly to repeat here.
The Florida State University social media put on a brave front, but it’s difficult to imagine how this turned out to be anything but an embarrassment for everyone involved.
Thanks for your #AskJameis questions. If yours was selected it will be featured on @Seminoles_com later this week. Go #Noles!
— FSU Football (@FSU_Football) August 10, 2014
Note to people doing social media. Just because someone is a “star” doesn’t mean that they should be profiled by your brand. Let this debacle serve as the first case study in support of that position.
