TV and movies today are full of people who are powerful enough to escape the rules. These people include Gordon Gekko, Katniss Everdeen, and Francis Underwood. While these fictional characters may be dramatic to follow, nobody in the real world, especially in sports, should be exempt from the rules.

It is no secret that Jameis Winston’s image, Heisman trophy chances, and NFL draft stock plummeted after last week’s controversy. It is also easy to see Jameis’ further actions of entering the field fully dressed to play as an expression of arrogance.

Based on the decisions made by the Florida State athletic director and interim president, head football coach Jimbo Fisher had to deal with pitting an inexperienced quarterback in the starting role against a big ACC rival in Clemson.

Lucky for the Seminoles, the FSU fanbase, and college football in general, quarterback Sean Maguire performed well and earned a gritty win for the Seminoles. From a simple viewpoint, the defending national champions are still undefeated, ranked first in the AP top 25 poll, and have a significant lead over Clemson in the ACC standings. However, Maguire accomplished far more than that.

If Maguire had lost that game, any continued misbehavior by Winston would put Fisher and the athletic department under the spotlight in order to discipline Winston. In this event, they would be faced with the problem of potentially losing a big football game with Winston suspended.

Lucky for them, Maguire performed so well that the university can take disciplinary action if there are any future issues and can still have confidence in their quarterback. This may also prevent Winston from breaking the rules again, with that threat in mind.

In the end, I would like to humbly thank Sean Maguire for keeping a talented yet rebellious quarterback within the confines of the rules that all athletes must abide by.