The NFL rulebook is so long and complex that even some officials don't even seem to understand it. With a couple of mistakes made by referees becoming one of the main storylines coming out of Week 1 of the NFL season, an error and miscommunication of the rules by the officials regarding Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III's wearing of a knee brace came into play in Monday night's game against the Eagles.
Griffin, who spent the offseason rehabbing from a well-documented knee injury he originally sustained in Week 14 last year but re-aggravated in the team's wildcard round playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks this season, was told by officials he had to cover up his protective knee brace with a sock because official's believed that was part of the rules.
The officials were incorrect. Griffin was confused.
"Everybody in the league kept calling down to our sideline saying that I didn't cover the brace up," Griffin said per Yahoo Sports. "I don't understand that one, but that's why we had to continue to do some stuff to cover the brace up with my sock ... I don't know what the league's doing. I got fined 10 grand for a shirt, so I don't know."
The fine that Griffin alludes to was a $10,000 penalty handed down by the league for Griffin wearing an "Operation Patience" t-shirt as a tongue-in-cheek reference to the team being very careful with him following his knee surgery last season. The levy wasn't due to Griffin's defiance of the club, but it was handed out because he was violating NFL's licensing agreements regarding apparel.
A video highlighting the Redskins and Eagles matchup can be seen here.
The officials first told Griffin he had to put something over the brace to protect the other players as commissioner Roger Goodell has recently put a huge emphasis on player safety following a barrage of lawsuits from former players.
The snafu by the officials wasn't the only one this week. The Green Bay Packers gave up an extra touchdown to the San Francisco 49ers last week because the officials gave the 49ers and extra third down due to another confusion with the rules.
NFL.com reported that it was once again a miscommunication of the rules by the officials, leading them to force Griffin to cover the brace:
.@RGIII forced to cover knee brace. @NFL: "Miscommunication. Players have the option of wearing knee braces either inside or outside pants"
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 10, 2013
Griffin managed to not get hurt while wearing the knee brace, but the second-year quarterback's team still dropped the season-opener to the Eagles 33-27.
Griffin is looking to build off of a promising rookie campaign in 2012 where the signal caller was 258-for-393 with a completion percentage of 65.6% while throwing for 3,200 yards and adding 20 touchdowns compared to just five interceptions. The Redskins are looking to win their second consecutive AFC East title and will square off with the Packers in Green Bay Sunday.
With two teams who were victimized in Week 1 by officials that didn't know the rules, they can only hope the referees don't come into play in Week 2.
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