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Robert Griffin III, the Washington Washington Football Team sensational rookie quarterback, had no business playing football in last week’s playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks.

I know it. Fans know it. And Mike Shanahan, the stone-faced coach of the Washington Football Team, ought to know it, too.

It was clear that Shanahan should have pulled Griffin off the field the moment his 22-year-old prodigy started limping out of the huddle and cringing from obvious pain in his right knee. But he didn’t. Shanahan allowed Griffin to stay in the game, hobbling left, and hobbling right, all for the sake of winning. The Washington Football Team lost 24-14.

Shanahan waited until he had no choice: When Griffin’s leg twisted grotesquely on the turf and he fell to the ground in agony, the 84,000-plus fans looking on at Fed-Ex Field knew Griffin was done for the day.

And now Shanahan is paying the price for his ill-advised decision: Griffin will need to undergo surgery in the days ahead to repair damage to ligaments in his right knee. The Washington Football Team’s worst fears have become a reality – RG3 will be out for months recuperating and dealing with extensive therapy.

So was it really worth it to keep Griffin on the field Sunday? And did Shanahan jeopardize Griffin’s future as an NFL quarterback? The executive director of the NFL Players Association said Tuesday that the union is reviewing how Shanahan and the Washington Football Team managed Griffin’s injury — a good move. Maybe now we can get some honest information out of Washington Football Team Park.

In a post-game news conference, Shanahan insisted that he would never put Griffin in harm’s way. He said he asked Griffin if he was good to go, and Griffin said yes.

What did Shanahan expect Griffin to say? He’s young, he’s playing in his first NFL playoff game, he’s pumped up like never before – and he desperately wants to win. So in that critical moment on the sidelines, with thousands of fans chanting “RGIII!, RGIII,!” Griffin can’t be trusted to make the decision for himself – that’s why there are coaches in place. That’s why there’s management.

“Our medical staff said he was fine to play,” Shanahan told reporters. “Checked with the doctors and asked them their opinion if we would be hampering his LCL if we did play him or was he in good enough shape to go into the game and play at the level that we need for him to win. We would not play Robert if we thought there was a risk of him further injuring that LCL.”

But it turns out the Washington Football Team were very concerned – privately. James Andrews, the Washington Football Team team doctor, told USA Today that he was “scared to death” about Griffin playing on an injured knee. If Andrews was worried, why was Shanahan okay with sending Griffin onto the field with a knee that could buckle at any moment?

The Blame Game: RG3′s Injury  was originally published on blackamericaweb.com

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