Former NFL QB Robert Griffin III received a fierce backlash at X on Thursday after saying that the destruction of the colour walls of MLB legend Jackie Robinson was not “political.”
Robinson recently became the subject of controversy after an article celebrating his military service was removed from the Deletion from Government Sites (DOD) website as part of the removal of President Trump's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Purge (DEI) (DEI). Robinson was not explicitly targeted. Instead, this article was one of several targets by AI programs that highlight such articles.
The article was restored after DoD realized the situation.
But it did nothing to stop mainstream sports media and its critics from filling in the vast amount of airtime that denies anti-DEI efforts and President Trump.
I handed out these disturbed waters a former ESPN host and former NFL QB Robert Griffin III, and posted this message to X.
Griffin received a big pushback for his post. Most X users think they refer to reports dedicated to Jackie Robinson's issues. Griffin went back to X to clarify that he hadn't spoken about Robinson, but his clarification did not land accurately.
“It's not political to break the colour barriers of baseball itself,” Griffin said. “It was not political for Jesse Owens to win four gold medals in its own right. jIt was not political in itself to have ACK Johnson become the first black boxing heavyweight champion. They were all politically influenced. They all challenged the current state of fair play, race relations and racial barriers to civil rights. It should always be recognized and never forgotten. They should not use the political agenda as an excuse to boost their audiences there on national television sports shows to consume sports content. ”
Griffin's claim that Robinson's destruction of the coloured wall was “not political” led to even more intense backlash.
Undeterred Geiffin posted another message explaining his position.
“It wasn't political for Jackie Robinson to play baseball on its own. Jackie was signed not as a political statement, but because he was extremely talented,” Griffin wrote. “It was made political by others because it challenged a deeply entrenched system of separation in the United States, which is the case.”
