Robert Griffin III was pictured ahead of a meeting with members of the press wearing a T-shirt with the slogan 'Know Jesus Know Peace'. But what had sports commentators talking was why it was turned inside out by the time he was in front of the cameras.
The difference was spotted by the Washington Post's Dan Steinberg, who tweeted two pictures of the devout Christian Washington quarterback side by side, one prior to the press conference with the slogan on the outside of the T-shirt, the other picture with the slogan this time being worn on the inside of the T-shirt.
"Something changed!" Steinberg tweeted.
RGIII, before and during his press conference. Something changed! (via @JPFinlayCSN) pic.twitter.com/P2wGzZ69GN
— Dan Steinberg (@dcsportsbog) September 15, 2014 " data-caption="null" data-credit="null">Well spotted indeed. Yahoo! Sports's Frank Schwab speculates that Griffin turned the T-shirt inside out to comply with the NFL's rules about wearing clothing that promotes other companies over official sponsors.
The report links to the NFL's general rules for players that prohibits them from "wearing, displaying, or orally promoting equipment, apparel, or other items that carry commercial names or logos/identifications of companies".
Michael Phillips over at the Richmond Times-Dispatch also picked up on the shirt change, tweeting that NFL uniform inspector Tony McGee "told Griffin he couldn't wear the shirt because it wasn't a Nike product".
McGee told Griffin he couldn’t wear the shirt because it wasn’t a Nike product. Made him turn it inside out for the press conference.
— michael phillips (@michaelpRTD) September 14, 2014 " data-caption="null" data-credit="null">Griffin was hit with a $10,000 fine last year apparently for wearing an "Operation Patience" shirt during a pre-game workout, even though it didn't carry another company's logo.
Griffin was appearing before the press on Sunday to talk about his dislocated left ankle. Phillips later tweeted that despite the serious injury, the player was likely to return to the field some time this season.
