ESPN's Robert Griffin III Uses Highly Racist Term On Air, Says It Was Accident
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ESPN football analyst Robert Griffin III used a racist slur in his defense of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts on “Monday Night Countdown.” (Watch the video below.)
Griffin, a former Heisman Trophy winner who played quarterback in seven NFL seasons, had a message for critics of Hurts, who has led the Eagles to a 12-1 record.
“People said that Jalen Hurts couldn’t get it done, he could not break from the pocket, he’s not the quarterback of the future,” Griffin said. “I think he proved all those jigaboos wrong.”
The derogatory term for Black people has been around for ages and Griffin’s casual inclusion of it on the pregame show for “Monday Night Football” was a shocker.
RGIII pushing the boundaries of analysis you can get on TV pic.twitter.com/2JsxHG0p8B
— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) December 13, 2022
Griffin later tweeted that he meant to say “those Bug-A-Boos.”
“Regardless of my intention, I understand the historical context of the term that came out of my mouth and I apologize,” he wrote.
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/Dy4vVuiginpic.twitter.com/DL0lqcz0jK
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) December 13, 2022
“We aren’t commenting beyond his tweet,” ESPN told HuffPost Tuesday.
Griffin has been in hot water before for commentary that went awry. Earlier this season, he compared an allegation of indecent exposure against former receiver Antonio Brown to the defenses of Detroit and Seattle.
“AB showed more D than the Lions and Seahawks did today,” he wrote at the time.