USAT - Dr. James Andrews says he never cleared Robert Griffin III to go back into game after injury

[frommd]

Copied from the Breaking News forum. This scares me a little.

http://www.indystar.com/usatoday/article/1811689

When Washington Redskins rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III injured his knee on a gruesome collision in the fourth quarter of a 31-28 victory against the Baltimore Ravens on Dec. 9, he limped off the field for one play, then hobbled back into the huddle as fans and teammates held their breath.

Griffin, clearly injured and in pain, remained in the game for four plays before removing himself.

The following day, when the team revealed Griffin had suffered a sprained lateral collateral ligament, coach Mike Shanahan was asked why he had risked the health of his franchise quarterback by putting him back into the game.

Shanahan said he let Griffin return with the blessing of James Andrews, the renowned orthopedic surgeon, who was on the sideline.

click on the link to continue reading

[truskinsfan18]

If this is true, then that is Terrible, terrible news. Horrible. Can't even put Into words how much is pisses me off. Shanahan cares more about his job then the safety of his players. He's lucky Cousins bailed him out.

[Blue Collar Skins]

Notice how he is promoting a new book? If he made no controversial comments, do you think his book would be even mentioned anywhere? I am not saying that is definitely the case, but the doctor said nothing prior to this, but the moment he is promoting the book, he comes out with this?

[RIPSean]

My question is, what was Dr. James Andrews doing on the sideline? Isn't he one of the top orthopedic doctors in the world? Is he working for us now or something? Or did he just happen to be in the area?

[STBonecrusher21]

Hes been cleared since then.

Doesnt bother me too much.

[dahibachi]

Notice how he is promoting a new book? If he made no controversial comments, do you think his book would be even mentioned anywhere? I am not saying that is definitely the case, but the doctor said nothing prior to this, but the moment he is promoting the book, he comes out with this?

I agree... this happened almost a month ago and now we are just hearing about it... after I've watched countless interviews where Shanahan said he was given the thumbs up to put him back in the game. I don't believe this story for a second.

[Burgold]

It's a bit dubious that he took four weeks to clear this matter up. I suspect in hindsight neither Andrews nor Shanahan would put him in. In the moment there didn't seem to be a loss in stability.

[RonArtest15]

My question is, what was Dr. James Andrews doing on the sideline? Isn't he one of the top orthopedic doctors in the world? Is he working for us now or something? Or did he just happen to be in the area?

He's the team doctor.

[Bantu]

My question is, what was Dr. James Andrews doing on the sideline? Isn't he one of the top orthopedic doctors in the world? Is he working for us now or something? Or did he just happen to be in the area?

Snyder & Co. have hired him to be there during home games, I think. May be one of the reasons we were able to get a diagnosis on RGIII's knee that same night of the game, instead of a day later.

[Riggo'sRangers]

My question is, what was Dr. James Andrews doing on the sideline? Isn't he one of the top orthopedic doctors in the world? Is he working for us now or something? Or did he just happen to be in the area?

He is the team doctor for Alabama, Auburn, and the Redskins. Pretty cool, 'eh? HTTR

[blueskin]

No physician would've cleared him to go back in right away, and most of us would've recommended he stay out for at least two weeks. That is what you do for grade 1's. Now, if he had a grade 2, well, it would've been prudent to keep him out a bit longer. But I'm speculating, after the fact. I didnt examine him, and I'm not an orthopod. He's healing, and prob won't be fully healed until sometime after the super bowl.

He'll be fine. And, yeah, he was cleared by the team's doctors a week later, and I assume that includes dr Andrews. So we're cool, I hope.

[NikoBellic]

for a second i lost all my respect for mike shanahan but i'm going to refrain judgement because i don't know what really happened. this whole story is weird. and everything happened really quickly. clearly some people were on the sidelines checking rg3 out, so maybe in the chaos of everything mike confused one of the regular therapy staff as dr. andrews, and that guy said "he's good to go." rg3 and mike shanahan seem to get along well so it doesn't seem like anything to worry about.

[TheRookie]

From his practice's website...

"In the professional sports arena, Doctor Andrews is Senior Consultant for the Washington Redskins Professional Football team; Medical Director for the Tampa Bay Rays Professional Baseball Team; and team physician for the Birmingham Barons Double A Professional Baseball Team, an affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. Doctor Andrews is the Medical Director of the Ladies Professional Golf Association."

Link: http://www.andrewscenters.com/staff/...p?doc_id=39195

[autoidiodyssey]

It was pretty obvious that he didn't. RG3 only talked to the trainers. He missed one play, he was on the sideline for less than a minute before he went back in.

[TheRookie]

In the article, Andrews says Bob wouldn't let the doctors examine him. So, it's not like a case of Andrews telling Mike, "Hey. Don't put Robert back in, it looks bad and he's not clear." And Mike saying, "The hell with what you say. As long as his leg is still attached to his body, he's going back in." I can see it being something like Mike saying, "Doc, are we good to go here?" And Andrews (or whoever) shrugging their shoulders and being like, "Umm, I don't know, I guess."