And the haters are hatin' on RGIII, the injured rookie QB for the Washington Redskins.
Not long ago, he was called a cornball brother by ESPN's Rob Parker who apparently didn't think RGIII to be a black enough brother. Today, he's been called a liar by Yahoo's Dan Wetzel:
Robert Griffin III couldn't do much of anything Sunday except lie, which is what he's been trained to do in situations like this.
Lie to himself that he can still deliver like no backup could. Lie to his coach that this was nothing big. Lie to the doctors who tried to assess him in the swirl of a playoff sideline.
So Robert Griffin III lied...
RGIII, wrongly in retrospect, refused to pull himself out of the game, out of what I, perhaps as wrongly, see
to be a selfless act, a selflessness that isn't out of character for for the man. And for that selflessness, he's being criticized by arm chair quarterbacks who know beyond a doubt that his backup would've done a better job.
That may in fact have turned out to be true but the bottom line is that... we really don't know. And when we don't know and when we're dealing with a man known to have the kind of class and character RGIII is known to have, you'd think he'd be given the benefit of the doubt. You'd be wrong.
The haters are out in force and I'm only reporting a portion of it. I guarantee you there's more.
RGIII is likely being criticized by the haters for lots of reasons but it's hard for me not to opine that a portion of the hatred is directed at him because he's a man of faith and public about it. And today, being public about your faith makes you an object of ridicule and scorn, either in your face, like the bluntness exhibited by Rob Parker and Dan Wetzel or, as is the wont of cowards, behind your back.
Of course, Mr. Griffin is reacting on social media:
When adversity strikes you respond in one of two ways....You step aside and give in..Or you step up and fight.
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) January 7, 2013
I thank God for perspective and because of that I appreciate the support from everyone. I also appreciate the criticism.
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) January 7, 2013
Many may question, criticize & think they have all the right answers. But few have been in the line of fire in battle.
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) January 7, 2013
That last tweet has some people accusing the man of, in essence, insulting our fighting men and women, as if figurative war language has been used for the for the first time by RGIII.
You simply shake your head and move on and wonder what the hell the world is coming to.
