Jameis Winston tried to share a positive message with children at a St. Petersburg, Fla., elementary school on Wednesday.
But in an effort to keep the attention of his young audience, Winston asked the boys in the crowd to stand up, while telling the girls to remain seated. He then stated boys are supposed to be "strong" and not "soft-spoken" while ladies are supposed to be "silent, polite, gentle."
"I was making an effort to interact with a young male in the audience who didn't seem to be paying attention, and I didn't want to single him out so I asked all the boys to stand up," Winston told the Tampa Bay Times following his appearance. "During my talk, I used a poor word choice that may have overshadowed that positive message for some."
Winston sensed the crowd of third-fifth graders at Melrose Elementary was starting to lose its composure, and employed the strategy in hopes of regaining the students' attention.
Instead, the comments quickly irritated the social media world Thursday despite the, "I can do anything I put my mind to" theme Winston tried to share during his appearance.
Here are Winston's initial comments:
"All my young boys, stand up. The ladies, sit down," Winston said. "But all my boys, stand up. We strong, right? We strong! We strong, right? All my boys, tell me one time: I can do anything I put my mind to. Now a lot of boys aren't supposed to be soft-spoken. You know what I'm saying? One day y'all are going to have a very deep voice like this (in deep voice). One day, you'll have a very, very deep voice.
"But the ladies, they're supposed to be silent, polite, gentle. My men, my men (are) supposed to be strong."
Then Winston proceeded with the theme of his appearance: "I want y'all to tell me what the third rule of life is: I can do anything I put my mind to. Scream it!"
Winston's comments have brought a wide range of reactions.
Some people in the room for the appearance were upset while others were not affected by the comments, according to Times columnist Greg Auman.
ESPN reporter Britt McHenry posted on Twitter: "I'll get crushed, but as a woman, I don't have a prob w/ Jameis Winston. He was trying to do something positive in community. Misspoke."
Winston, who will enter his third season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next September, has constantly worked to repair his image since being accused of sexual assault at Florida State University in 2012.
Winston settled a federal lawsuit last December with his accuser, former FSU student Erica Kinsman, but he was never charged with a crime or a violation of the university's student code.
Winston's overall theme he tried to share with the impressionable students was a positive one. He told students he wakes up every morning at 4:20 a.m. to read in his Bible for an hour. He is also taking online classes and is about 26 credit hours shy of earning his degree from Florida State.
He advised them to embrace their intelligence. "All the way through elementary, I'd get laughed at," Winston said. "I was kind of a cool kid, I'd be good at football and stuff, but I was smart. You should not be afraid to be smart. Being smart will help you get to where I am now."
Winston also had another comment that was more efficient with audience participation.
"I was in the third grade. I was in the fourth grade. I was in the fifth grade, and I was just like you all. I wanted to be great," Winston said. "How many people want to be great today? Say it out loud. I want to be great (students repeat).
"You have to mean that. You have to mean that, because you all can be great. You all can be successful."
