More than a decade after one of college football’s most memed moments, Jameis Winston is proving he’s comfortable laughing at himself.
According to People, the New York Giants quarterback recently tapped into a viral TikTok trend to reference the infamous 2014 incident during his Florida State University days, when he was accused of stealing seafood from a Publix grocery store in Tallahassee.
The moment has followed Winston throughout his career, surfacing in jokes, memes, and commentary anytime his name trends online.
This time, Winston took control of the narrative.
Using the popular “In your 20s…” TikTok format—where users offer tongue-in-cheek advice based on youthful missteps—Winston posted a short video filmed while waiting for the subway in New York City.
The on-screen text read: “In your 20s, you will walk by the seafood section at Publix… it’s very important you keep walking.” He punctuated the joke with a simple caption: “Trust me.”
The post immediately took off, with fans recognizing the callback without Winston needing to spell it out. It was a rare example of an NFL veteran leaning fully into an old headline rather than trying to dodge it.
Back in 2014, Winston—then Florida State’s star quarterback and a Heisman Trophy winner—was issued a civil citation after surveillance footage captured him leaving a Publix with crab legs and crawfish without paying.
He later addressed the situation in a public statement, saying at the time, “I went to the supermarket with the intent to purchase dinner but made a terrible mistake for which I’m taking full responsibility.”
Ahead of the 2015 NFL Draft, Winston revisited the incident during an appearance on ESPN’s Draft Academy, claiming he believed the items had been given to him for free by a store employee.
Publix disputed that explanation after an internal review, stating there was “no information” supporting any such arrangement. Florida State, for its part, briefly suspended Winston from its baseball team, requiring community service before reinstatement.