Ex-NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb didn't take kindly to Washington Redskins star Robert Griffin III declining to call him. McNabb responded by accusing the reigning Rookie of the Year of being "brainwashed," the Washington Post reports.
McNabb, who played one season in 2010 for Washington, reached out to Griffin in May to offer guidance. Griffin didn't think it was such a good idea.
"Right now, it's probably best that we don't talk," Griffin told GQ in a recent interview.
Griffin's decision is rational - McNabb had a well-publicized fallout with Redskins coach Mike Shanahan. It appears Griffin just doesn't want to get in the middle of the two men's lingering bad blood - especially when one of them is his current coach.
McNabb didn't like Griffin's rejection.
"I'm just trying to help him. Clearly the young generation, they think they have all the answers," McNabb said on Tuesday during his NBC Sports radio show (via The Post). "He's going through a little turmoil right now, trying to make it out on the field, and it's unfortunate. But that's where we're at right now as far as these young quarterbacks who think they have all the answers. Until things start to fall apart and come trembling (sic) on you, then you want some help.
"But it's a shame. I honestly think that over there in Washington, he's getting brainwashed. He's getting input from whoever it may be on, 'There's no reason to talk to him, it didn't work out here.' If they expressed their dislike when I was there, or what I used to do, so be it.
"But, I hope the best for the young man, but the direction he's going in is really a direction he does not want to do. He does not want to go there with me, especially when I got the last word."
McNabb's last remark sounds petty, if not a thinly veiled threat. Griffin declined McNabb's invitation to talk, and now McNabb sounds angry and slighted. The former Eagles quarterback also makes headlines these days only by bashing the Redskins.
If Griffin is smart, which everything thus far indicates he is, then he'll ignore McNabb and not give the 36-year-old what he seemingly wants: ratings.
