Robert Griffin III: NFL kept telling me to cover up my knee brace
Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III looked extremely rusty in his first game back from reconstructive knee surgery on Monday night. Fans were anxious to see how he would respond to live action, but apparently the NFL didn’t want viewers getting distracted by his knee brace.
The Washington Post pointed out on Tuesday morning that Griffin covered his knee brace with his uniform pants and sock throughout the course of his team’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Why? Because the league insisted.
“Everybody in the league kept calling down to our sideline saying I needed to cover the brace up,” RG3 said after the game. “I don’t understand that one. But that’s why we had to continue to do some stuff to cover the brace up with my sock. It was the same brace. It just looked bigger because they kept putting stuff over it.”
A Redskins spokesman told the Post’s Mark Maske that the order came from the NFL’s uniform inspector in the press box.
“Man, I don’t know what the league’s doing,” Griffin added. “I got fined 10 grand for a shirt. I mean, I don’t know.”
RG3 was fined a few weeks ago, presumably because he wore this shirt on the field during pregame warmups before one of Washington’s preseason games. He is not the first player we have seen receive a fine for choosing to wear apparel that is not issued by the league, but what’s the deal with the knee brace?
Did Griffin’s knee brace have an Adidas logo on it or something? He did not cover the brace up last season. RG3 provided no explanation as to why the NFL wanted him to hide the brace, so for now it remains one of the many bizarre mysteries involving the No Fun League’s uniform policy.
