At some point soon, those involved in the entire drama that surrounded Robert Griffin III’s tenure in Washington are just going to have to move on.
What good does it do for people to rehash old issues between old figures within an organization that’s no longer a part of these individual’s careers?
This is the high rode that the new Browns quarterback is taking after a story on ESPN ripped him to shreds earlier on Wednesday.
“I’m so far removed from Washington now and focused on this opportunity here in Cleveland that I don’t even worry about those things anymore,” Griffin said, via Pro Football Talk. “I can only focus on what I can control and that’s here in Cleveland. I didn’t even see that story.”
The story in question, written by ESPN’s Jason Reid, calls into question the relationship Griffin III had with Washington’s owner, Daniel Snyder. It’s a relationship that reportedly included the former Heisman winner overriding the coaching staff to get calls included in the playbook.
At one point, former Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan indicated that Griffin III was lecturing the team with words that the Super Bowl-winning coach believed came directly from Snyder.
“When Robert is standing there going through all of that, I know it’s coming from Dan,” Shanahan said, via ESPN’s story. “When Robert talked about ‘unacceptable,’ that was a word Dan used all the time. He was using phrases Dan used all the time. There’s only one way a guy who’s going into his second year would do something like this: If he sat down with the owner and the owner believed that this is the way he should be used.”
This is just one piece of information that paints Griffin III in a bad light. It tells us a story of a young man that was unable to mature at the level many expected.
A man that refused to take responsibility for his actions in the downfall of an organization he initially helped build up back in 2012.
But in no way is Griffin III wrong to want to move on from that dark chapter in his career. He has a fresh start with the Browns. In reality, D.C. is behind him in more ways than one.
Coming up with a detailed explanation of how that relationship rotted, leading to an ugly divorce, does nothing to further the careers of anyone involved. Griffin III fully understands this.
Maybe it’s time for others involved in the drama to come to this very same conclusion, Shanahan included.