Robert Griffin III Apologizes For Saying “Jigaboo” On-Air, Meant to Say Bug-a-Boo

Robert Griffin III recently apologized after using the term “jigaboos” during ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown pregame show coverage between the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals.

While discussing Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts’ performance against the New York Giants, Griffin stated, ” People said that Jalen Hurts couldn’t get it done. He could not break from the pocket. He’s not the quarterback of the future,” Griffin said. “I think he proved all those jigaboos wrong.”

RGIII pushing the boundaries of analysis you can get on TV pic.twitter.com/2JsxHG0p8B

— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) December 13, 2022

Merriam-Webster describes the term jigaboo as “an insulting and contemptuous term for a black person.” After social media responded to the viral clip, Griffin apologized for the comment via Twitter, saying, “Yooooo, Definitely need to clarify this. THIS IS NOT WHAT I MEANT TO SAY.” He continued, “Was trying to say ‘those Bug-A-Boos’ in reference to haters and doubters.”

Griffin then apologized, “Regardless of my intention, I understand the historical context of the term that came out of my mouth and I apologize.”

Yooooo, Definitely need to clarify this. THIS IS NOT WHAT I MEANT TO SAY. Was trying to say “those Bug-A-Boos” in reference to haters and doubters. Regardless of my intention, I understand the historical context of the term that came out of my mouth and I apologize. https://t.co/Dy4vVuigin pic.twitter.com/DL0lqcz0jK

— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) December 13, 2022

Griffin is one of ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” regular pregame show analysts, but this isn’t the first time his on-air actions have gone viral.

Less than a month ago, Griffin III was roasted by his wife for eating fried chicken on-air during another Monday Night Countdown broadcast. A few weeks later, he made a subtle reference to his and his broadcast partner’s skin color while on-air during “Black Friday.”

Clearly, Griffin is no stranger to receiving negative feedback from social media about his questionable comments, but this was by far one of the most outlandish things the sports analyst has said on-air.