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Robert Griffin III turns religious shirt inside-out at post-game Q&A

Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III turned his religious-themed shirt inside-out before addressing the media Sunday.
(Evan Vucci / Associated Press)
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Robert Griffin III was sure to be a focal point at the Washington Redskins’ post-game news conference Sunday afternoon.

Maybe that’s why the team’s star quarterback — or someone else who got in his ear — decided he better not take any chances with his T-shirt.

Earlier in the day, Griffin left the Redskins’ game against the Jacksonville Jaguars with a dislocated ankle. He is expected to miss significant playing time. He entered the media area at FedExField with his left ankle wrapped and using crutches.

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He was also wearing a T-shirt that said in large letters “Know Jesus Know Peace.” But by the time Griffin took the podium to address reporters, the T-shirt had been turned inside out.

The NFL has pretty strict rules about what players can and can’t wear at the stadium on game days at any time they might be visible to the public. Players’ outfit can’t feature “personal messages either in writing or illustration” and cannot “honor or commemorate individuals,” at least not without league approval.

Furthermore, the league won’t grant permission for any items “which relate to political activities or causes, other non-football events, causes or campaigns, or charitable causes or campaigns.” Anything that is approved is supposed to be, among other things, “non-controversial.”

So while there doesn’t seem to be any specific rules pertaining to religious-themed shirts like the one Griffin was wearing, there looks to be plenty of gray area and language that could have caused some grief for RG3.

After all, this is a guy who was fined $10,000 last year for wearing a shirt that said “Operation Patience” — a reference to the Redskins’ slow pace in returning him to action after an ACL injury — before fans even arrived at the stadium.

No wonder he decided to play it safe.

By the way, the Redskins announced Monday that an MRI exam revealed no broken bones in Griffin’s ankle and said there’s a possibility he could return later this season. Griffin also spoke to reporters — no word on what shirt he was wearing at the time.

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Twitter: @chewkiii

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