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Robert Griffin III has quickly turned himself into a star in the world of sports media. The former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback exudes charisma and talks about the game of football that many others do not.
But Griffin also isn’t afraid to push some boundaries.
That willingness hasn’t always been for the best. While he’s quickly risen through the broadcast ranks, he’s also had a number of controversies in his short media career. He came under fire just recently for a joke about former NFL wideout Antonio Brown and a sexual harassment incident. Griffin also often toes the line of what’s acceptable to say on television while calling college football games.
Earlier this year, he was added to the regular cast of ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown leading into the network’s weekly Monday Night Football game.
Griffin went from toeing the line to stepping way, way over it on Monday night.
RGIII pushing the boundaries of analysis you can get on TV pic.twitter.com/2JsxHG0p8B
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) December 13, 2022
Griffin, whether intentionally or accidentally, uttered a racial slur while discussing Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. Fans were not happy at all about the comment.
He said what? https://t.co/3Ki94wvy1v pic.twitter.com/W232jFI7IK
— DJ (@dj_whatshisname) December 13, 2022
WHAAAT https://t.co/j3SLUu4Dqr pic.twitter.com/zKymJFVfl8
— Ramadan Kareem!🌙✨ (@defclubmix) December 13, 2022
Nothing could have prepared me for the last sentence in this video https://t.co/5ALXSoYiD7
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) December 13, 2022
Unsurprisingly, Griffin offered an apology on social media for using the word. But his explanation doesn’t really hold up well to scrutiny.
Robert Griffin III Offers Up Hilarious Excuse For Using Racial Slur On ESPN
Griffin took to Twitter late Monday night to explain that he simply used the wrong word.
Yooooo, Definitely need to clarify this. THIS IS NOT WHAT I MEANT TO SAY. Was trying to say “those Bug-A-Boos” in reference to haters and doubters. Regardless of my intention, I understand the historical context of the term that came out of my mouth and I apologize. https://t.co/Dy4vVuigin pic.twitter.com/DL0lqcz0jK
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) December 13, 2022
“Yooooo, Definitely need to clarify this,” he said. “THIS IS NOT WHAT I MEANT TO SAY. Was trying to say ‘those Bug-A-Boos’ in reference to haters and doubters. Regardless of my intention, I understand the historical context of the term that came out of my mouth and I apologize.”
Needless to say, people were skeptical of the explanation.
@espn, did you and your PR team come up with this, or did RG3 come up with this on his own?
Name a time that this was used on your network before this? In 2022 this dude really said this.
— Gee Scott Sr. 🎙️ (@GeeScottSr) December 13, 2022
Lying >>>> https://t.co/PRuPeTjuXQ
— Timaal Bradford (@timaal_bradford) December 13, 2022
Ion know my boy https://t.co/ldZGSTJf96 pic.twitter.com/ZfXJy2wdYn
— 🛸 (@svintyeezy) December 13, 2022
ESPN has not yet commented on the incident and it’s unknown whether Griffin will face any additional punishment from his employer.