ESPN reportedly fired Robert Griffin III, according to The Athletic.
The former NFL star was fired just weeks before the start of the new season, despite still having two years left on his contract. He was considered a rising star at the network.
Griffin, the 2012 Offensive Rookie of the Year, played for the Washington Redskins, Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens during his NFL career.
He joined ESPN in 2021 after turning down interest from Fox Sports and ESPN, who were impressed with Griffin’s audition.
The former quarterback worked on ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown but was replaced by Jason Kelce this offseason. The recently retired Philadelphia Eagles star is seen as a major signing for the network.
ESPN reportedly fired Robert Griffin III, despite having two years left on his contract
Griffin also worked on ESPN’s college football broadcasts alongside broadcaster Bob Wischusen.
Earlier this month, Griffin gave his support to controversial Olympic boxer Imane Khelif after she was embroiled in a gender-based row in Paris.
Khelif, who won a gold medal, was disqualified from the 2023 world championships after failing unspecified gender eligibility tests administered by the now-banned International Boxing Association.
The 25-year-old, who is not a transgender woman and has never identified as such, reportedly has male “XY” chromosomes.
Former NFL player Robert Griffin III showed his support for Algerian boxer Imane Khelif
Griffin, married to Grete Griffin, was replaced by Jason Kelce on ESPN’s Monday NFL coverage.
Amid protests from people including former President Donald Trump over her presence at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Griffin said Khelif is a “biological woman” who deserves “protection.”
“This is one of the cruelest and most unfair situations I’ve ever seen at the Olympics,” the former quarterback said in a social media clip posted Friday.
“If you do a little research, you’ll find that five million women have higher testosterone levels than most women,” she explained.
“This young woman is not a man competing against women, she is a woman who is being judged unfairly.”