Retweet of the Day - August 13, 2013

Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin, III recently made headlines by saying that he wanted to play in the preseason, even though he has not been allowed thus far. Griffin is recovering from a knee injury (A.C.L. strain or tear) sustained late last regular season, probably aggravated in a first round playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Griffin is a rapidly rising star in the NFL, with a very high ceiling. In contrast, NBA 2011 Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls tore his A.C.L. in his knee in the first round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs. Rose was cleared to return to basketball late in the 2013 regular season, but elected to remain on the sidelines through the end of the season.

I am not criticizing Rose. An athlete's body is his money maker. But there is a contrast in the approach to recovery from an injury and returning to play between these two star athletes.  Joe Schuh ‏(@_SchuhFly) summed it up well in a tweet to ESPN's Scott Van Pelt and Ryan Russillo:

"@SVPandRussillo This RGIII story is the polar opposite of the D-Rose story earlier this year"

Nobody would fault him if he wanted to take it slowly.

Image from http://articles.washingtonpost.com