While fans criticized Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert for his awful AFC Wild Card performance against the Houston Texans on Saturday, a former NFL quarterback received backlash for his words against the LA star.
Former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL starter Robert Griffin III was among the many analysts and fans eviscerating Herbert’s game.
Herbert completed just 14 of 32 passes for 242 passing yards, one touchdown and an abysmal four interceptions in a 31-12 loss.
Griffin took to social media to criticize Herbert, but some didn’t like the phrasing of the former Washington, Cleveland and Baltimore quarterback’s words.
“The national media would do a better job of holding Justin Herbert accountable for his playoff performance, like they do with Lamar Jackson and Dak Prescott,” Griffin tweeted Saturday evening.
Many on social media decided to condemn Griffin for these comments, which seemed to suggest that Jackson and Prescott (who is black) receive more criticism than their peers like Herbert (who is white).
Former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III found himself at the center of controversy after a tweet
Griffin criticized the poor performance of Chargers QB Justin Herbert, who threw four picks
Griffin said the media should hold Herbert to the same standard as players like Lamar Jackson and Dak Prescott – with some believing race was central to his message
“Y’all worried about taking down Herbert instead of beating Stroud in the playoffs,” wrote a user on X, formerly Twitter.
Another user said: ‘Come on Robert, damn does everything have to be about race?…The whole thing, constantly looking at things through the lens of race, stinks. It invites this kind of one-upmanship, where everyone starts thinking in terms of race. It amounts to reviving racism rather than washing our hands of it. It’s fucking stupid. Stop it.’
Outkick founder Clay Travis tweeted: “The racing challenges here are excruciating. It’s 2025, brother. All these guys, black and white, make $50 million a year to play quarterback. And if they lose, they will all be snatched to high heaven. You’re just making up racial stories here to divide sports fans.”
Travis continued, “Should we break out Jussie Smollett’s face for the sports racing ace this year? If I post a Jussie photo and it gets more likes than you think, will you be embarrassed to high heaven? Seems like a nice idea, like the frog of shame, but then a sport.’
He added, “By the way, Peyton Manning is the most criticized quarterback for ‘not winning the big game’ of all time. John Elway will probably be second. (Both eventually did.) Dan Marino is third. Coincidentally, they are all white. Why are they super criticized? Because they are AMAZING. Greatness creates high expectations. That’s sport.’
Daily Wire writer Blain Crain simply tweeted “race-baiting.”
“Since you’re eager to make this a racial issue (it’s not by the way), you missed the opportunity to bring this up [Houston Texans quarterback C.J.] Stroud on the big stage like he deserves…….’, read another user’s post.
‘What about [Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike] Tomlin and his playoff failures? Any ideas there?,” another fan wrote.
Fans criticized Griffin, saying he was making this an issue of race rather than ability
Almost to return immediately to the question from that last fan on Sunday afternoon: Griffin posted another tweet saying, “The national media better hold Mike Tomlin accountable for his lack of playoff success like they do Mike McCarthy.”
Griffin then posted a list of statistics comparing the two coaches, noting that the Steelers coach has a losing playoff record, hasn’t won a playoff game in an extended period of time, and concluded, “So take them both under scrutiny, or show them both mercy. They are literally on the same path.”
Travis called Griffin’s second stance a “pivot” before adding, “But in all seriousness, the goal of any honest person, sports media member or fan should be to hold everyone to the exact same standard, regardless of race, class, sexuality or anything else also. other identity politics garbage used to divide us.
“And for the record, I think Tomlin has a lot less to work with at QB than McCarthy does. The dividing line between success and failure in the NFL is almost entirely based on who your quarterback is. Look at Belichick, the man was the GOAT with Brady, he can’t win in the NFL without him.”
This isn’t the first time this NFL season that ‘RGIII’ has been at the center of racing controversy.
In November, a number of people suggested that his mixed-race daughters were not black.
Griffin defended his children from outsiders’ opinions, saying, “Black women telling my four daughters they are not black is BEYOND WRONG.”