rgiii jesse owens
Getty Images/ESPN
Former NFL quarterback and currently unemployed sports analyst Robert Griffin III went viral on social media for suggesting that the accomplishments of athletes such as Jackie Robinson and Jesse Owens weren’t political. Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball, while Owens won Gold Medals in Hitler’s backyard in Nazi Germany.
The debate surrounding American sports hero and United States Army veteran Jackie Robinson comes after the Department of Defense removed an article from its website that detailed Jackie Robinson’s service, while adding the letters “DEI” to the url.
The fervor at the decision was loud and wide, and the DOD eventually added Robinson’s page back to the website, thanks in no small part to the efforts of ESPN’s national MLB journalist Jeff Passan, who gave the story a platform.
“This used to be the URL for a story on the @DeptofDefense website about Jackie Robinson’s time in the Army. The story has been removed. The ghouls who did this should be ashamed. Jackie Robinson was the embodiment of an American hero. Fix this now,” Passan tweeted.
After his initial tweet saying that “Sports shows on TV should be about sports not politics” (Griffin specifically said ‘sports shows’ and not ‘sports’ because there’s no denying politics are involved in sports if you’ve watched a recent UFC event), the former NFL quarterback tried to further explain himself but only wound up making himself look more foolish.
This tweet is not about Jackie Robinson.
His significance can never and should never be erased.
Breaking the color barrier in baseball in itself is not political.
Jesse Owens winning 4 Gold Medals in itself was not political.
Jack Johnson becoming the 1st Black Boxing…
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) March 20, 2025
Soccer analyst Taylor Twellman’s response seemed to be the general consensus, which was one of disbelief that RGIII would suggest that breaking the color barrier and a Black American competing in Nazi Germany weren’t “political” — Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games, and as a result, “single-handedly crushing Hitler’s myth of Aryan supremacy,” according to ESPN.
“Breaking the color barrier was not political”……
HUH?! https://t.co/TDCJLnAYm5
— Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) March 21, 2025
“’Breaking the color barrier in baseball in itself is not political,’ God damn it’s really hard to pick who the dumbest motherf—– on television is between you and [Emmanuel] Acho,” the top reply to RGIII’s tweet reads.
“’Breaking the Color barrier in baseball itself is not political’ Dude what? Lmao,” another aghast popular reply read.
“How is it not political? The only reason people of color could NOT play in the majors was DUE to the politics of the time. Context matters discussing history. Jackie Robinson’s legacy is about overcoming the politics of his era,” a third added.
It’s always Croissant O’Clock in Paris 🤙🏾 pic.twitter.com/nijeFhc2Jx
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) August 9, 2024
RGIII, 35 years old, won a Heisman Trophy in 2011 while playing at Baylor University. He was then drafted by the then-Washington Redskins with the second overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. Griffin lasted just four seasons in Washington (and was only healthy for three of them) and became a backup in 2016 with the Browns, before closing out his career backing up Lamar Jackson on the Ravens for three seasons.