Redskins opt to hold out Robert Griffin III

It takes quite the sales job to explain why a medically cleared Robert Griffin III won’t play for the rest of the season.

Embattled Washington Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan realized that and gave it his best shot Wednesday, speaking passionately at times in a 28-minute news conference that included references to the team’s “circus atmosphere” and insistences that the move isn’t a ploy to get himself fired.

The upshot is that Griffin will be the inactive third quarterback for the Redskins’ final three games, behind starter Kirk Cousins and backup Rex Grossman. Shanahan’s reasoning is that he fears Griffin, who has taken a pounding in recent weeks, will be injured, and that would ruin the franchise player’s off-season — a reversal of Shanahan’s oft-stated position that Griffin needed as much game experience as possible and would play to the end of the season.

“You’ve got to take a look at the risk and reward,” Shanahan said. “And with Robert I thought that his hits were piling up on him, giving him his toll, and I was afraid that we would set him back.”

Griffin, who publicly clashed with Shanahan at times this year, clearly wasn’t happy with the decision. He gestured, shrugged and shook his head throughout his turn at the podium, and he declined to answer when asked if he believes Shanahan’s rationale for the benching, saying: “At this point, I just have got to leave it up to Coach.”

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Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has shed the walking boot on his sprained right foot, but he’s not ready for practice.

Coach Leslie Frazier said Peterson probably won’t practice until Friday at the earliest. The Vikings play host to Philadelphia on Sunday, and Peterson’s status is in question.

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California safety officials have issued $54,000 in fines against an elevator company whose employee was killed while working at the San Francisco 49ers’ new stadium in Santa Clara.

Mechanic Don White, 63, was killed June 11 by an elevator counterweight.

The state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health cited Schindler Elevator Corp. on Tuesday for three serious violations, including its alleged failure to enclose counterweights in freight elevators with required guards.

In a statement, Schindler said it intends to vigorously contest the citations, noting that the state had initially found no violations in connection with the incident.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Pittsburgh’s Donald wins Lombardi Award

Pittsburgh’s Aaron Donald picked up another award Wednesday night, winning the Rotary Lombardi Award.

Donald beat out Alabama linebacker C.J. Mosley, Missouri defensive end Michael Sam and UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr for the award given annually to the nation’s top college lineman.

It’ has already been a big week for Donald, a senior defensive tackle who won the Bronko Nagurski Award given to the nation’s top college defensive player Monday.

The 6-foot, 285-pound Donald leads the nation with 26 1/2 tackles for losses. Also, Auburn’s Gus Malzahn was chosen as Home Depot Coach of the Year, and Washington’s Austin Seferian-Jenkins was selected the John Mackey Award winner for the nation’s outstanding tight end.

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Boise State hired former player and offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin to be the Broncos’ next head coach.

Athletic Director Mark Coyle confirmed that he had lured Harsin back to Boise and away from Arkansas State, where Harsin was head coach for one season.

The 37-year-old Harsin grew up in Boise and became a backup quarterback after walking on to the program in the late 1990s. He then worked as an assistant coach starting in 2001 and was elevated to offensive coordinator in 2006 by Chris Petersen, the man he will now replace.

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Connecticut has hired Notre Dame defensive coordinator Bob Diaco as its head coach, a person with knowledge of the decision told the Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the hiring.

GOLF

Brooks (62) takes lead in South Africa

England’s Daniel Brooks shot an eight-under-par 62 to take a one-stroke lead in the Nelson Mandela Championship at Durban, South Africa, after heavy rain disrupted the first round.

Play at Mount Edgecombe Country Club began seven hours late after rain left many of the fairways waterlogged. More than half the field failed to complete their rounds.

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Greg Norman, Zach Johnson, Keegan Bradley, Brandt Snedeker, Bill Haas, Rickie Fowler, Retief Goosen, Mike Weir, Justin Leonard, Trevor Immelman and defending champion Brian Gay will compete in the Humana Challenge golf tournament Jan. 16-19 in La Quinta.