When ESPN surprisingly laid off Robert Griffin III in August, some thought that Paul Finebaum might have contributed to the decision.
Griffin had taken a not-so-thinly-veiled shot at the SEC Network host for taking “cheap shots” at Florida State. Finebaum had appeared on First Take and claimed FSU would finish the season unranked (which, to be fair, he was very correct about). Griffin then responded with a social media post blasting anyone “throwing shade” at FSU. Two days later, Griffin was fired.
While RGIII has since spoken highly of his time with the company and that he would return to ESPN in the future if asked, that lingering sentiment that there was some correlation between Finebaum and the firing has lingered.
During a recent appearance on Barstool Sports’ Pardon My Take, the Heisman Trophy winner spoke about his relationship with Finebaum and why they weren’t exactly a great fit for one another.
The conversation started with Big Cat half-jokingly asking RGIII if he thought Finebaum was responsible for the firing.
“Wow, that is a heavy one. I don’t think he did. I have no proof of that,” Griffin III said. “What I do know is that, when I’m on TV with somebody, I just feel like there’s a way to tell stories the right way, and there’s a way to cover the athletes the right way. And I didn’t feel like, at times, in — I think it was like two instances, when I was on First Take with Paul, that he was — he was taking care of their stories the right way.
“And like, I wouldn’t come to you and be like — we can disagree, right? I’m not gonna say, ‘Big Cat’s a fraud,’ right? That’s a strong term. I’m not gonna say that PFT is irrelevant. That’s personal.”
Finebaum has also alluded to a disconnect between him and Griffin, saying that he was “different than most” analysts.
Griffin also shared what he was thinking when ESPN let him go and the soul-searching he did to understand why it didn’t work out.
“I first have to say I was not fired. I was laid off. There is a difference. I am getting paid by ESPN while I’m off,” Griffin III said. “The first reaction was, why? So you go through the process of, ‘Why did this happen?’ Okay, let me look at performance. They’re saying it’s not performance-based. They put me on Monday Night Countdown. Blessed me with that opportunity. I was very thankful to be on the show. … For me, it was more of a, ‘They put me on here for a reason.’ I was a younger guy. Everyone else on the set was a little older. They wanted to hit the younger demographic, just like everyone is trying to do right now, when it comes to content creation. And we accomplished that. The show was a success.
“Then, we changed the show. … You go on that show and the ratings stay the same. So, then they bring Jason Kelce in. It’s like, ‘We should be on this thing together, having a good time. Two great personalities.’ I love Jason. I think he’s a phenomenal dude. … When I looked at it from that point, it’s like, ‘Okay, it’s not performance-based. They’re telling me it’s not performance-based. Then what is it about?’ And I don’t know.
“But what I can do is I can sit here and twiddle my thumbs for three, four months, five months, and try to figure out, ‘Well, why did this happen?’ Or, I can just go, move on and have fun. Enjoy the process. … It’s been a fun process for me, and I’ve got some stuff in the works that’s going to be coming up here in the next couple weeks, and I’m blessed to be a part of those opportunities. But you just don’t want to sit on your hands and feel sorry for yourself.”
