Ever since suffering that nasty knee injury against the Baltimore Ravens on December 9, Robert Griffin III never looked the same. While rocking a bulky knee brace, RGIII looked slower than normal and seemed very susceptible to re-injury, but the Redskins franchise quarterback still kept playing on. Then, last week, a story broke about where Dr. James Andrews claimed he never cleared Griffin to get back on the field.
During the week, while RGIII underwent surgery to repair the LCL and ACL damage on his right knee, many people wondered if 'Skins head coach Mike Shanahan's decision to keep Griffin on the field was the right choice. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, however, feels that the whole thing played out just fine because it was "medical decision" and pointed out that Griffin had no problem with it either.
It's no secret that players play. When they aren't on the field, they want to get back on the gridiron. Yeah, Griffin had no problem with it but there comes a point when someone needs to step in and confront a competitor and tell them that they need to heal up first and foremost. As for the whole "medical decision" bit, we'll never know who's telling the truth when it comes to the Dr. Andrews/Mike Shanahan saga, but if a doctor is a a "nervous wreck" letting an athlete come back so quickly, what does that tell you?
Luckily, Griffin has a good chance at returning as early as the start of next season. If this injury were to end his career, maybe Goodell would be singing a different tune.
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[via Deadspin]
