Too much was made of the postgame locker room visit Robert Griffin III's father paid to his son on the heels of Monday night's ugly loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
During a season in which the Washington Redskins' second-year passer has been thrust under the microscope, RGIII made it crystal clear Wednesday that he won't tolerate his family being picked apart by the press.
"I don't know what all has been said, I just know it hasn't all been positive," Griffin told reporters. "My dad came to check on me. He came to check on me to make sure I wasn't injured. Mom was upset. He wanted to, you know, do his fatherly duties and step in there and see if I was OK."
Griffin acknowledged he was "shocked" to see his dad in the locker room, but said "he meant no harm."
"Anybody out there that's going after my dad needs to back up," Griffin said. "That is my father. I will protect my family. He served 21 years in the military. I know that's not an excuse for anything that he does, but he's not overstepping any bounds, so I respect that. I hope people will respect that."
The mood lightened considerably when Griffin acknowledged that his father was concerned about a kick the quarterback took "in the gonads."
The quarterback said he put his dad at ease with confirmation that RGII will someday be a grandfather, saying: "There will be an RGIV."
The latest "Around The League Podcast" previewed all three of the big Thanksgiving games on the schedule.
