RGIII Twitter: What Did His "Political Correctness" Tweet Mean?

Culture

Robert Griffin III, the young and exciting quarterback for the Washington Redskins, showed his awesomeness when he sent out this tweet on Tuesday:

You may ask: "Why is RGIII awesome for sending out this tweet?" That's easy. For starters, RGIII breaks the sterotypical mold set forth by other recent African American quarterbacks like Vince Young, Jamarcus Russell, and even a young Michael Vick, who are more commonly known for their off the field activities than their on-the-field performance; he is eloquently worded; and, he is not afraid to shine light on the inaccuracies of the media. First, no one will know why he sent out this tweet. One could speculate this tweet was sent because of the current state of flux regarding the name-change of the Washington Redskins, or even Jason Collins' recently announcing that he was gay and a member of the LGBT community. No one will know until @RGIII explains the meaning. 

He thanked a few fans before sending these additional tweets:

So why is this awesome? For starters, you should read the story of Chris Kluwe, the Minnesota Vikings punter who could be losing his position on the team because of his gay rights activism. With all due respect, Mr. Kluwe, you are no RGII. That sounds terrible, I know. But its true, a punter is easily replaceable; a franchise quarterback with amazing skills, enthusiasm, and character to match, is not. 

"In a land of freedom we are held hostage by the tyranny of political correctness."

That is an extremely enticing political argument to get into. I'll break this down into two sections. The first being, "In a land of freedom"; the second, "held hostage by the tyranny of political correctness."

"In a land of freedom" clearly refers to the First Amendment. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

"Held hostage by the tyranny of political correctness" refers to the ongoing debate about being politically correct in today's society.

RGIII is no stranger to the idea of being "politically correct." Earlier this year, Rob Parker from ESPN made comments calling Griffin a "cornball brother" and not being "down with the cause." How did Griffin respond? "I'm not going to comment because its not going to benefit anyone." He gets it. Being politically correct often intrudes on our First Amendment Right. Would I have torn into Rob Parker for his "cornball" comment? WITHOUT A DOUBT. The odds of me being 100% politically correct in my response are extremely low. It a fine line that many of us seem to not want to cross; we have the right to say whatever we want, yet are afraid others will criticize when they don't agree with it. 

"You want to be defined by your work ethic, the person you are, your character, your personality," he said. "I am an African-American in America. But I don't have to be defined by that."

RGIII is awesome because he is willing to defend your right to say whatever you like even if he may not agree with it and even if it may not be politically correct. 

For more on the importance of RGIII's tweet, follow me @Mitchell_Mello