Darrell Green talks Redskins name, state of franchise

Darrell Green is one of the greatest players to ever step on a football field. Green, who played 20 seasons with the Washington Redskins from 1983-2002, is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and remains perhaps the fastest player of all-time.

Green was a shutdown corner before the term was in vogue, making seven Pro Bowls and being named an All-Pro on four occasions. These days, Green, 55, is staying active in his community and raising awareness about retirement. Last weekend, Green ran a 4.01K at RFK Stadium, the former home of the Redskins.

Green was nice enough to speak with FanSided for a few minutes about the team’s controversial name, his secret to playing 20 years in the NFL, and his mission with Prudential.

Q: How did you manage to play 20 years in the NFL?

A: I just did what a normal human should be doing. Early on, I was like ‘this is a good job.’ My sister worked 30 years for the postal service. I just did my job. I trained twice a day in the summer over at George Mason. … I’m nothing famous to me. … I was fast and I was born fast. I trained and I developed that speed. I was just recognized at the fastest player in NFL history right ahead of Bob Hayes. … I’m a guy who never smoked and drank. I never did marijuana. I was born in 1960, and you how many times I was offered that? You know how many times I said no? Every time. I had women come at me all the time and I told them I was going hope to my wife. All of that and God’s grace.

Q: Can the Redskins ever be a competitive team with Dan Snyder as their owner?

A: They can get there. It doesn’t look like it today but the owner is no idiot. He built a business to be able to do it at a young age. He’s pulled in a general manager and coach who are smart people. They are up against a lot. These kids are coming from communities who have a lot to deal with. It takes times to establish the right people on the bus and then putting them in the right seats, and then making sure the bus driver is the right driver. Joe Gibbs had the luxury that he got to oversee young people like myself who came from a different moral ground. … These kids for the large part are coming from a single-parent home … This generation is a lot more selfish.

Q: What should the franchise do about the name and the complaints about it being racist?

A: I’ve said on many occasions that my initial response was the owner didn’t want to have a dialogue and I said that wasn’t right. It deserves a conversation, a response, a discovery of the legitimacy of what is being challenged. I still maintain that. I have also been on record that I’m not throwing away anything that is Redskins that I played under that flag. But I think it’s fair and responsible to come to a clear conclusion to say this is right or this is wrong, and this is hurting people.

I have not seen their voice and their representation at a national level. I’ve seen people talk about it, but I have not seen anybody representing those people. Back in history, we had a face in Dr. King who had a message that needed to be responded too. … Nobody really knows what the issues are. If that comes, the Redskins are responsible to respond to that. As far as I’m concerned, I’m not throwing anything I have but I’ll support whatever decisions are made down the pike.

Q: Why are you running a 4.01K and what is your goal with Prudential?

A: We were launching this nationwide, the big launch was in the nation’s capital and it’s literally at RFK Stadium, and I am RFK Stadium. It made sense and we collaborated. I played in the NFL and I was an ageless wonder, only 60 days from my 43rd birthday. I understand the importance of retirement. And there is a message from Prudential that there is a crisis in America that one in three people are not prepared for retirement. … It’s a day or commitment and awareness. Let’s take one more percent of our annual income and save it. If we do that we will have an additional $134 billion in our savings coffers.