Nearly 13 years after calling RGIII "cornball," Rob Parker reveals intent behind infamous comment on ex-NFL QB

Rob Parker sparked controversy in December 2012 when he called then-ascendant Washington rookie quarterback Robert Griffin, aka RGIII, a "cornball brother" on ESPN's "First Take." Nearly 13 years later, he revealed his perspective on the matter.

The veteran journalist was a guest on "The Rematch Show* on Sunday. He discussed many topics with host Etan Thomas, a former NBA player. Talking about the RGIII controversy, he said he had intended to praise the player - only to be misunderstood (from 0:50 in the video below):

"I was looking for the right word. I think the conversation was someone saying that he could wind up being the greatest black quarterback. I think he was offended that 'black' was in front of 'quarterback'... I think that's really what it came from."

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Parker's attempted praise would age poorly in the long term. Against the Baltimore Ravens, Griffin suffered a career-derailing knee injury on a hit from defensive tackle Haloti Ngata. He performed poorly over the next two seasons and lost his starting job to Kirk Cousins in 2015.

Griffin unofficially retired in 2021 after stints in Cleveland and Baltimore, joining ESPN as a studio analyst.

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RGIII "cornball" comment was not Rob Parker's first NFL controversy

Rob Parker had had his fair share of controversial comments even before he called RGIII a "cornball brother."

Im 2004, he called late baseball legend Hank Aaron a "coward" for refusing to watch Barry Bonds break MLB's all-time home run record. In October 2008, he erroneously reported that Kirk Cousins, then a redshirt freshman at Michigan State, had gotten into a fight with the school's hockey team. The Detroit News suspended him for two weeks after then-head coach Mark Dantonio spoke up against the fake news.

Two months later, after the Detroit Lions lost 7-42 to the New Orleans Saints during their winless season, Parker asked then-head coach Rod Marinelli whether he wished his daughter Chris "had married a better defensive coordinator" than Joe Barry.

The next day, amidst much condemnation, he attempted to defend his question as merely "an attempt at humor." He resigned from The Detroit News some days later.

Edited by Chaitanya Prakash