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Retired NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III is facing backlash for what social media users called an "embarrassing" take on Jackie Robinson breaking the MLB color barrier.
Robinson's legacy emerged at the forefront of national conversation after the Department of Defense temporarily removed its webpage honoring the baseball legend and Army vet. The move came amid DOD Secretary Pete Hegeseth's efforts to scrub the department's website of any content singling out the contributions of minority groups and women.
Though Robinson's webpage was later restored, several sports personalities, including ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, called out the Pentagon for attempting to remove Black history following President Trump's executive order banning diversity, equity, and inclusion in the federal government.
RG3 initially caused a firestorm on X, formerly Twitter, when he apparently referenced on-air commentary about Robinson and the Defense Department.
“Sports shows on TV should be about sports, not politics," the former NFL quarterback tweeted.
Griffin clarified his controversial comment in a follow-up post on X, saying that breaking the color barrier in baseball wasn't political. He went on to list more important moments in Black sports history that he claimed had nothing to do with politics.
“Breaking the color barrier in baseball in itself is not political,” Griffin said. “Jesse Owens winning 4 Gold Medals in itself was not political. Jack Johnson becoming the 1st Black Boxing Heavyweight Champ in itself was not political. They all had political ramifications. They all challenged the status quo of racial barriers to fair play, race relations and civil rights. That should always be acknowledged and never forgotten. They shouldn’t be used as an excuse to push political agendas on sports shows on national television to an audience there to consume sports content.”
"Dude come on 'They shouldn’t be used as an excuse to push political agendas.' The whole point is the Trump Administration trying to erase Jackie Robinson from historical public official records, because they see him as DEI and don’t think black history counts. THAT’S POLITICAL," one X user responded to Griffin's take.
"Jackie Robinson is being erased from history because he's Black. That's a political agenda dumba**. Pointing out that it's wrong isn't political agenda. It's just the truth. This is some embarrassing s***," another user wrote.
See more reactions to Griffin's comments below.
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