TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Wednesday is often called over the hump day, a chance to start celebrating the coming weekend.
The drinking age in Florida is 21, but 18-year-olds are allowed in bars. It's gotten three Florida State University football players in hot water, but keeping underage people out of bars has always been a heavy lift for lawmakers.
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Jameis Winston, Dalvin Cook, and D'Andre Johnson were all investigated after allegations from women in bars. All three players were 19 at the time.
Winston was accused of raping a coed. Cook and Johnson were accused of punching women. There is video of only one of the incidents, Johnson's punch, but before the punch, a band on his arm suggests he is old enough to drink.
State Attorney Willie Meggs, who has been involved in all three cases, questions the wisdom of being underage in a bar.
"It makes absolutely no sense to me, so it would strike me they ought not be allowed in the place," Meggs said.
Cook was acquitted by a jury and is back on the team. The police report shows a 19-year-old witness was so intoxicated, police had trouble understanding her. In court, Cook's accuser was asked about her friends drinking.
"They didn't ID us," Madison Geohegan said.
"They didn't ID?" Geohegan was asked.
"No," Geohegan said.
It's been more than 25 years since lawmakers looked at trying to keep everyone under 21 out of a bar. Just about every proprietor in the state complained, and the idea died a very quick death.
Dave Ericks owns one of the state Capitol's best known watering holes.
"It's part of the experience. You're, let's say, dating a 21-year-old, and you are 19 or 20, and you couldn't go somewhere with them. It just wasn't right," Ericks said.
Ericks said there are heavy penalties for serving underage drinkers. Bars could lose their license.
In a statement Wednesday, the state said it has made more than 100,000 visits to places that sell alcohol, arresting 1,843 people for selling to minors over the past three years.