Has Robert Griffin III gone from league darling to entitled diva? It would appear that is the case, especially if you believe all the recent reports about RG3, and the words of Washington Post columnist Sally Jenkins.
Jenkins obliterated Griffin in a column published on Monday. In the column, Jenkins cites RG3’s “egotism,” calls him a “boy emperor,” and says the second-year quarterback bragged to teammates about his influence over Redskins owner Daniel Snyder.
Jenkins described Griffin as a “boy emperor who believes he can dictate everything from the play-calling to what’s served at training table,” and said the “tip of his egotism” was getting the offense altered to suit him.
Here’s a sampling of her words:
Behind closed doors, Griffin had fierce finger-pointing tensions with his wide receivers, and he bragged to teammates that he could procure favors from the owner and influence the franchise’s direction.
According to Jenkins, RG3’s status as the boss’ favorite partly resulted in his lack of accountability for the Redskins’ poor season.
[Related: Santana Moss says RG3 needs to take more responsibility]
I’m sure many people will view this as an unfair column by Jenkins, but I don’t. Beginning in the offseason, Griffin came across as a spoiled brat. He constantly disagreed with coach Mike Shanahan over his recovery/rehab and made that issue much worse than it should have been. He really undermined his coach, and it sounds like we know the reason — he felt empowered by Snyder. Jenkins also indicates that the report that Griffin didn’t want negative plays about him shown during team film sessions is accurate.
I still think RG3 is a good player, but he has not handled himself well in the past handful of months and really needs to be humbled. It remains to be seen whether he’ll change his ways in the future, but this also explains why Washington may have some serious difficulty finding their next coach.
Helmet smack to Pro Football Talk
