John Madden says benching Robert Griffin III hurts the integrity of the NFL
By Josh Hill
The biggest sports story of the day was Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan’s decision to bench franchise quarterback Robert Griffin III for the rest of the season. While the decision is being applauded by a few people, others are lashing out against the move and against Shanahan. These people include Shanahan’s own family members, some fans and even former head coach and Hall of Famer John Madden.
Madden spoke to The Washington Post about the decision to shut down RGIII for the rest of the season and in a very long winded yet signature John Madden way, he very mush disagreed.
"“I do know this: when the going goes tough you don’t quit. And you don’t fold up. And you don’t go in the other direction. I think you stay with what you believe you stay with who you are, you stay with what you are. And we have an integrity piece here, too. You can say well they’re 3-10, they’re out of it, so now they can do these things. No you can’t. This is still regular-season football. Draft order, that’s one small thing, but you still owe it to the people that are playing, that are still in the playoff picture. And when you can affect that and you don’t affect it with an all-out performance, then I think that affects the integrity of the game. . . . If you’re in the regular season, there’s only one way to play, and that’s to play your best people to win the game, every regular season game.”"
The Robert Griffin III benching has proved to be a polarizing decision has brothers seem pitted against sisters when it comes to the Civil War brewing in Washington within the Redskins organization. There seems to be no end in sight but the decision to bench RGIII has been made and it’s clear that not everyone is onboard with the idea.