Robert Griffin III declined to discuss the controversy surrounding the Washington Redskins name and said he'd been advised not to speak about it. When asked again, Griffin said, "I'm not a Native American, so I don't know," USA Today Sports reports.
Reporters asked Griffin twice about his thoughts on the teams' name, which continues to draw criticism for its racial implications.
"I really can't dive into that," Griffin said during a teleconference before Wednesday's practice, via USA Today Sports. "That's something that's way above my understanding, and the bottom line, for me at least, I'm not Native American. I'm sure I have a little bit of blood in me, as my parents have told me.
"I'm sure a lot of you guys in that room have some Native American blood in you as well. But we're not at that authority to know what to do in that situation, so I just leave that to those who know a little bit more."
Griffin was asked a second time about the name and whether the topic frustrated him.
"I don't think the team really has to deal with it," Griffin said. "Like I said, they've kept it far away from us, and you're advised not to speak about it because we don't know what to say and we certainly don't know what to do. We just let those who are taking care of that, take care of it."
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello and Redskins spokesman Tony Wylie both denied ever having directed Griffin to remain silent on the topic. The question came up again after practice, where Griffin clarified his comments from earlier.
"Me and all these players in here, we're not the authority to speak on that issue," Griffin said. "We can't tell you anything from that standpoint because we have no authority to talk about that. Not a team-directed thing or anything. We just, I mean, I don't know what to say. I'm not a Native American, so I don't know."
It's unknown who advised Griffin to refrain from commenting on the team name. Earlier in May, Griffin posted a tweet that seemingly spoke in favor of the Redskins name.
