He said what he said. Image: Getty Images
I cannot confirm that Robert Griffin III shot Michael Vick on Twitter on Saturday. But the fact that Griffin tweeted a paraphrased version of what Vick Fox NFL Kickoff said isn’t far-fetched to think those comments didn’t quite fit RGIII.
On the show, Vick said Baltimore should have QB Lamar Jackson “Put a clamp on it and make it work.” A few hours later, Griffin tweeted that those who think Jackson should just put on braces and go play “need to get your head out of your ass.”
Griffin didn’t tag Vick, NFL on Fox, and didn’t even quote the video. However, since he sent out that tweet on Saturday and talked about braces, it’s far more likely he was upset with Vick than what Sammy Watkins said Wednesday, or anything else Jackson was accused of last week.
While Vick’s comments were insensitive, what Watkins said was ridiculous, suggesting the Washington Post’s Adam Kilgore that the Ravens only sent Jackson onto the field for passing plays and didn’t allow him to run. Great solution because of course no people over 250lbs are going to jump on his legs while he’s trying to throw.
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Vick wasn’t even the only person on the Fox set Saturday to have issues with Jackson. Sean Payton went first and said he heard there was some “grumbling” in Baltimore about how long Jackson’s recovery was taking. Payton also offered the hot shot that Jackson will transfer from the Ravens during the offseason. Charles Woodson said, “I don’t know if I would have the guts to sit it out.”
Both Woodson and Payton have lashed out at Vick for actually saying Jackson should play on that sprained MCL. Also, although Jackson detailed what’s wrong with his knee, it’s the Ravens who do listed him as for their Sunday night matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The media meat we deserve
Vick shouldn’t have said that an injured player should go on the field.
But Griffin’s tweet was a bit performative, especially when it seems like he objected to what Vick said but didn’t mention him. Let’s get more sports media people to turn on each other.
Studio shows can also be more fun when the people in suits behind the booth don’t get along. The tension between Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe has been both entertaining and uncomfortable over the past few weeks, but Bayless has been engaging with folks at the debate table for decades. Getting mad at him is like getting mad at the sun in the summer.
It would be nice if there was a bit of sports media beef, but unfortunately Griffin didn’t quite go for it. He sent out the rather heavily worded social media post, but didn’t put an address on it.
RGIII vs Vick could have been great. Maybe they could have done it with a 40-meter dash, like in the Atlanta episode when Vick was running with people on the street. Unfortunately, we’ll probably never know what could have been.
