Cleveland Browns quarterback Jameis Winston won’t eat just anything, apparently.
The backup, whose career has been associated with food in the media after a college scandal involving allegedly stolen seafood and a heavier body build, revealed his distaste for mashed potatoes on Wednesday.
Winston said mashed potatoes is a dish that he doesn’t even want people to bring to Thanksgiving, in an interview on the “BIG PLAY” podcast.
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“I have this thing where, please don’t bring mashed potatoes to Thanksgiving,” Winston said, denying the notion that the dish is a “staple” of the Thanksgiving meal.
“I really don’t think it’s a staple, it’s mashed potatoes,” Winston said. “It’s not a Thanksgiving meal… I would really just have a baked potato.”
Winston’s argument about mashed potatoes not being a Thanksgiving dish would be unfounded to some. But there is some historical contest to support his claim.
Mashed potatoes was not a dish at the first Thanksgiving at Plymoth Rock, Massachusetts, in 1621, according to multiple accounts. In fact, potatoes didn’t even come to continental North America until settlers brought them to Virginia around the same time.
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Potatoes originated in the Andean region of South America, specifically being domesticated by the Inca people, and were brought to North America by European settlers centuries after Christopher Columbus’s famous voyage in 1492.
However, potatoes quickly became a common dish at Thanksgiving dinners in the 1860s.
The popular Civil War era journalist and author Josepha Hale campaigned for Congress to officially recognize Thanksgiving. She is considered the individual most responsible for the creation of the national holiday in the U.S. beyond New England, earning her the nickname “Mother of Thanksgiving.”
Her writings frequently included mashed potatoes as a dish at the Thanksgiving dinner table, and the vast majority of American families have followed that precedent ever since.
A 2021 IPSOS survey found that mashed potatoes are the most common side dish at Thanksgiving feasts, with 77% of households including it.
Winston’s suggestion of baked potatoes was not even included in the survey.
Winston previously revealed his top 10 favorite fast-food restaurants in a social media video in September – 1. Chick-fil-A 2. McDonald’s 3. Dunkin’ Donuts 4. Chipotle 5. Krispy Kreme 6. Papa John’s Pizza 7. Pizza Hut 8. Subway 9. Arby’s 10. Panda Express.
He declined to include chains like KFC or Popeyes, which are among the most popular fast-food restaurants to serve mashed potatoes.
Winston’s taste in food has been the subject of coverage dating back to his Heisman college career at Florida State University. He was issued a civil citation for shoplifting on April 29, 2014, after allegedly walking out of a Tallahassee, Florida, supermarket without paying for $32 worth of crab legs and crawfish.
Winston denied the allegations in a statement the following April ahead of that year’s NFL Draft, where he was taken with the No. 1 overall pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I went to the supermarket with the intent to purchase dinner but made a terrible mistake for which I’m taking full responsibility. In a moment of youthful ignorance, I walked out of the store without paying for one of my items,” Winston said.
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