Brandon Banks: Jameis Winston Was Alone with Uber Driver on Night of Incident

A friend of Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston has issued a statement that contradicts a previous account of the night Winston allegedly sexually assaulted an Uber driver.

Per ESPN.com's Paula Lavigne, Mark Scruggs, the attorney for Winston's friend Brandon Banks, said Winston was put in an Uber alone in March 2016 after he became intoxicated and "unruly" at a nightclub in Arizona. 

"What happened after that, they cannot say," Scruggs said. 

Last November, per Talal Ansari of Buzzfeed News, a female Uber driver said Winston was the only passenger in her car when he "reached over and he just grabbed my crotch" while they were waiting in a drive-thru line at a restaurant. 

Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Ronald Darby said in a statement after the Buzzfeed story came out that there were three people in the car:

"I felt the need to come forward and clarify some inaccurate accounts of the evening of March 13, 2016 when myself, a friend and Jameis Winston took an Uber ride in Arizona. There were three of us in the car, not just one as has been reported. Myself and Jameis were in the backseat. I am confident that nothing inappropriate in nature happened in the car that evening and Jameis did not have any physical contact with the Uber driver. The accusations are just not true."

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Thursday that Winston will be suspended for the first three games of the 2018 season for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy. 

Per NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, the league's investigation into the situation with Winston found that Darby's statement "didn't hold water because he wasn't in the car the whole time."

If Winston is suspended for three games, he will be eligible to return on Sept. 30 against the Chicago Bears.