The Publix incident is a weird one, too.
According to my inside info, Jameis was sent to Publix to pick up the crab legs. If you watch the video, he casually walks in, straight to the counter, a guy hands him the crab legs, he casually walks out.
A couple of things that are hinky here - not common knowledge is that there was no price tag on the crab legs. Jameis was told to pick them up - we do not know by whom. If it were a coach or a booster, there could be NCAA trouble for both the team and the person that arranged for the pick up and the store (if they were not paid for by a third party). A manager who was not in on the arrangement called the cops. Jameis then falls on his sword for the team and/or booster and confesses to a theft he didn’t commit. The store refuses to press charges (Publix is a large chain and that decision was not made by a lowly store manager). Without the store willing to press charges, there is no crime.
Jameis did not at the time of the incident think he was stealing. He was just picking up an order that had been called in.
Now the REAL question is...was this an NCAA violation? Is a booster or the school itself buying food for the players against NCAA rules?
I would say you might be on to something in this case but if the store manager isn’t aware that it is pre-paid, why would a booster be so stupid as to fly his butt up a flag-pole.
That is weird. I don’t know why either party (Winston or the boosters) would risk everything for some seafood.