NCAA football star under fire after police raid home for drugs
Florida State Seminoles quarterback Deondre Francois was the subject of a two-month investigation by Tallahassee police after they received a tip suggesting Francois might have been selling drugs from his apartment, per the Orlando Sentinel.
An anonymous male tipster told the Tallahassee Police Department that he saw a large paper bag filled with approximately two pounds of marijuana in Francois’ apartment.
After receiving the tip, police launched an investigation in which they sifted through Francois’ curbside garbage on four separate occasions.
Once police obtained a search warrant, they raided Francois’ apartment. However, they didn’t quite find exactly what they were looking for.
Police only found about 17 grams of marijuana and assorted paraphernalia in Francois’ apartment, a far cry from two pounds. Based on those findings, it seems more likely that Francois may have been using the marijuana himself rather than selling it,
Of note, the state of Florida only recognizes legal marijuana for medical use, not recreational.
Francois, for his part, claims that the marijuana belonged to his significant other and that he hasn’t smoked for a few months.
Francois was ultimately not arrested, although he was offered a chance to enter a pre-trial diversion program following the raid.
This scandal caps off a tumultuous year and a half for the quarterback.
Francois burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2016 for FSU. He threw for 3,350 passing yards that year with 20 passing touchdowns and seven interception, in addition to five scores on the ground.
After earning the starting spot for good, Francois went on to win the Orange Bowl and notch ACC rookie of the year and offensive rookie of the year honors.
But things have only steadily trickled downhill for Francois since his electric freshman season.
First, with expectations running high, Francois suffered a torn patellar tendon in his left knee in the 2017 season opener against Alabama. He would subsequently miss the entire year, and is still recovering from the injury.
Second, the Seminoles floundered without Francois. While he may not have led FSU to the College Football Playoff, not having Francois certainly didn’t help the football team, which limped to a 7-6 record. That mark snapped a five-year streak of double-digit wins.
Third, Francois lost the coach who recruited him, Jimbo Fisher, to Texas A&M.
For now, at least, Francois is still on the team.
“He’s still with our football team,” new FSU head coach Willie Taggart told reporters. Taggart did, however, mention that he had discussed the issue with Francois, and that any potential discipline would be handled internally.
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