The Daily Nole

Ronald Darby Speaks Out in Support of Jameis Winston

Michael Schwarz/FSU Athletics

Former Florida State standout quarterback Jameis Winston last wore the garnet and gold in 2014, but that hasn’t kept him out of the national spotlight. The first overall NFL Draft pick in 2015 is being accused of groping an Uber driver, Buzzfeed reported on Friday.

However, one former defensive star has come to the defense of the controversial quarterback.

Ronald Darby, who played with Winston at FSU in 2013 and 2014, released a statement Sunday, via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, supporting the quarterback and downplaying the Uber driver’s claims.

“I felt the need to come forward and clarify some inaccurate accounts of the evening of March 13, 2016 when myself, a friend and Jameis Winston took an Uber ride in Arizona,” Darby said, via NFL Network. “There were three of us in the car, not just one as has been reported. Myself and Jameis were in the backseat. I am confident that nothing inappropriate in nature happened in the car that evening and Jameis did not have any physical contact with the Uber driver.

“The accusations are just not true,” Darby concluded.

Darby was also present in Winston’s apartment the night that Winston was accused of sexually assaulting FSU student Erica Kinsman in December 2012 – an accusation in which State Attorney Willie Meggs ultimately decided Winston would not face prosecution, citing inconsistencies in Kinsman’s claims.

Winston was also cleared by an FSU Code of Conduct hearing in 2014 after former Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice, Major Harding, declared that neither Winston nor Kinsman’s case was more credible than the other. Last December, the two parties settled a civil suit.

While a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Winston has become the first quarterback in NFL history to pass for more than 4,000 yards in each of his first two seasons, but has struggled this season and has missed consecutive starts with a shoulder injury. Darby, a former Buffalo Bill and current member of the Philadelphia Eagles, record eight tackles and an interception in Sunday’s 37-9 win over the Dallas Cowboys.

Josh Mixon covers Florida State athletics for The Daily Nole. You can find him on Twitter @JoshDMixon.

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