The NFL plans to suspend Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston for three games over an incident in which he was accused of groping an Uber driver, ESPN reported.
Winston was to be punished for “violating the league’s personal conduct policy,” ESPN said, citing unnamed sources.
The Uber driver accused Winston of fondling her in 2016, but the incident came to light in a BuzzFeed report in November. The NFL said at the time it was looking into the allegation.
The driver told BuzzFeed Winston “just grabbed my crotch” and kept his hand there for several seconds as they waited in a drive-through lane at a Mexican restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona, in March 2016. The quarterback was banned from Uber after the driver filed a complaint with the ride-sharing service. However, no police charges were filed, and Winston has denied the allegations.
Sports Illustrated noted that Winston would stand to forfeit $124,000 in base salary for a three-game penalty, which reportedly would begin the season.
The NFL did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
Winston, who won the Heisman Trophy at Florida State, was accused of raping a female student in 2012. The accuser sued the university for mishandling her sexual assault complaint and settled for $950,000. She also sued Winston, who countersued, and they reached an undisclosed settlement in 2016.
Winston said the sex was consensual. He was not charged by police.
The quarterback also stirred controversy in 2014, when he stood on a table on the Florida State campus and shouted an anti-woman profanity. He was suspended for a game.
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