TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Jameis Winston is back in the news today...this time following an ESPN report that says the Florida State University star quarterback may have been selling his autograph.
The report says the university's compliance department is looking into how nearly one thousand autographs were on sale from a single company. According to ESPN, so far at least 350 of those autographs have been authenticated.
A local auction house owner says the authentications are important for adding value to memorabilia like this.
"There's many authentication companies as there are sports memorabilia out there, there are hundreds", said John Witworth, owner of Affiliated Auctions & Realty. "Some are more reputable than others. You know it's just general process that we like to use,when we get a piece of memorabilia or autographs. Just to offer the customer some level of authenticity."
Jimbo Fisher weighed in on the autographs after the team's game on Saturday against Syracuse. ESPN says immediately following the game, Fisher pulled Winston aside to ask whether the claims were true, and Winston denied them. Fisher said in the post game interview he did not believe there was any merit to the claim.
"Kids sign things all the time. What do you want them to do, stop signing stuff?" said Fisher. "We could make... Not have any fans from that standpoint and not sign for anybody. That's what it's gonna come to, and that's a shame. That's a shame for college football, that we can't take a kid and someone exploits a kid. Now if they're getting paid, that's a different deal. I have no knowledge of that, and I don't believe Jameis did."
