Grocery Store in Alabama Advertises 'Jameis Winston King Crab Legs' for $17.99 Per Pound in Jest at Embattled Player
A grocery store in Alabama is now advertising "Jameis Winston King Crab Legs" in honor of the reigning Heisman trophy winner's recent bust for shoplifting $32 worth of crab legs and crawfish from a supermarket in Florida.
A release from the Leon County Sheriff's Office in Tallahassee said the Florida State quarterback received a civil citation on Tuesday after it was revealed that he had left a Publix Supermarket with $32.72 worth of merchandise without paying for it. An ESPN report noted that the merchandise was crab legs and crawfish.
Now Eric Smith, a manager at Jack's Foodland in Eva, Alabama, who describes himself as a "huge Alabama fan" decided he would make a joke out of the situation by advertising "Jameis Winston King Crab Legs," according to USA Today.
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"We didn't actually put them out for sale," said Smith. "With all the jokes going around about Jameis Winston and everything, we decided to print out some stickers as our own little joke and I put it on my Facebook and it kind of blew up from there."
Winston grew up in the Birmingham area but was recruited away to FSU, so he's seen as somewhat of a defector among Alabama sports fans who are loyal to their home teams.
Winston's Seminoles beat Auburn for the national championship in January.
"My whole family, we're all huge Alabama fans," said Smith. "So anytime something like this happens, it's just funny to us as Alabama fans."
According to ESPN, Winston said in a signed statement that he is taking full responsibility for the "unfortunate" incident.
"As reported in the news, last night I received an adult citation for petit theft from a local supermarket," the statement noted. "I went to the supermarket with the intent to purchase dinner but made a terrible mistake for which I'm taking full responsibility. In a moment of youthful ignorance, I walked out of the store without paying for one of my items."
"I realize that I am in the public spotlight and my conduct needs to be above reproach. Over the last year I've learned that my accomplishments on the fields can be a wonderful thing for my school, teammates, friends and family. At the same time, I must realize that my mistakes are magnified and can bring great embarrassment to all those who support me every day," he said.
As a result of the citation, Florida State suspended Winston from its baseball team.
