Former Florida State cornerback, P.J. Williams, was arrested early Friday morning, April 3rd, on FSU’s campus for driving under the influence, according to multiple reports. The arrest, which is coming just weeks before the NFL draft, was made due to a campus police officer observing the SUV Williams was driving existing a McDonald’s parking lot and struggling to make an illegal left turn onto Dewey St., per the police report. As Williams struggled to maintain the SUV in it’s lane, the officer proceeded to pull the vehicle over.
“Upon making contact with Williams, I detected a strong odor of alcoholic beverage coming form the cabin of the vehicle,” the officer wrote. Noting Williams’ “red, watery eyes” and “low, slurred speech,” prompted the officer to put Williams under arrest, after the first round hopeful declined to take a field sobriety test. Perhaps the most candid excerpt from the police report is that Williams said that “he played football at FSU and just wanted to go home.” That statement is not only significant considering the stigma of leniency that college athletes enjoy on campus, but also that Williams had a previous motoring incident—a hit and run involving William’s vehicle turning across oncoming traffic—which many perceived he received disproportionate punishment for by the Tallahassee Police Department (two traffic tickets).
FSU has received its fair share of criticism surrounding the behavior and consequences for its football players. The incidents involving Williams and potential first overall pick, Jameis Winston, bring into question how much is really known about the maturity level Florida State’s football players. It’s hard to imagine that Williams, who was considered a fringe first round prospect, won't suffer for his inequities (though it’s difficult to know what information NFL teams already had access to). Either way, it appears that Williams’ arrest not only affects his future in the league, but furthers suspicion and inspires distrust of the current FSU program.
