Wild South Beach nightclub binges, strip club VIP sections with expensive champagne, lavish parties on board a $1.6 million dollar private yacht, and even a motorcraft crash are just some of the allegations involving Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. outlined in a bombshell Yahoo! Sports report about former University of Miami booster Nevin Shapiro.
Shapiro, now incarcerated by Federal authorities for his role in a $930 million dollar Ponzi scheme, has shared with Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports that he gave "thousands of impermissible benefits" to over 70 former and current University of Miami players and coaches over the course of the last decade. Those benefits include cash, car payments, televisions, car modifications, alcohol, lodging, the use of Shapiro's private yacht, lavish parties at hotels and nightclubs, strip club trips, prostitution, and in one instance, an abortion.
Winslow, who signed a 6-year, $36 million dollar deal with the Buccaneers in 2009, is listed by Robinson as one of the 72 players that Shapiro spoke about during countless hours of interviews that were conducted with Yahoo! Sports, as well as federal prosecutors. Shapiro claims he had contact with Winslow during his time at Miami after being introduced to him by former Miami safety Antrel Rolle, now with the New York Giants.
Amonst the allegations against Winslow are multiple counts of Shapiro providing entertainment in the form of parties upon his private yacht, VIP access to nightclubs on South Beach, alcohol, and perhaps most interesting, a cash payment to fix damage and presumably cover up an incident in which Winslow crashed a personal watercraft into another man's boat.
Two sources have corroborated the reports of Winslows involvement in the partying and the jet-ski accident, and Yahoo! Sports has acquired three pictures of Winslow partying with Shapiro or on his yacht, including a shot of Shapiro embracing Winslow in Miami's Opium Garden nightclub, liquor in hand.
Winslow is the most accomplished tight end in Miami history and was drafted 6th overall by the Cleveland Browns in the 2004 NFL draft. He was traded to the Buccaneers in the summer of 2009, where he signed long-term and has quickly became one of teams most dangerous receiving threats. In 2010, Winslow lead the team in receiving with 66 catches, for 730 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Winslow has not commented publicly on the allegations, or the University of Miami scandal.
For more coverage on the University of Miami scandal, check out the full story at Yahoo! Sports and the supporting coverage on SBNation's NCAA section.