Robert Griffin III Draws Backlash After Mocking Barry Sanders in Viral Post [VIDEO]

This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.

Former Washington Commanders star Robert Griffin III made the rounds again online, but not necessarily for the best reasons.

Once again, the retired quarterback rubbed people the wrong way, this time for mocking NFL legend Barry Sanders.

A laughing Griffin shared a clip of 57-year-old Sanders, who survived a heart attack last year, falling asleep on the couch. He captioned the video “I used to be a heck of an athlete,” and added some highlights of Sanders’ career to follow the viral TikTok trend.

“I used to be one heck of an athlete”

-Barry Sanders pic.twitter.com/YwIjLJR0is

— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) December 13, 2025

Of course, this was all in good spirits, and he even added “My mans deserve all the rest he can get after carrying the Lions for a Generation” in a follow-up tweet, but some saw this as a violation of his privacy and their friendship.

Griffin has a long history of incendiary takes and engaging in back-and-forths with the fans, so he doesn’t usually get a pass like other athletes would in the same position.

Barry Sanders was ahead of his time

Truth be told, Barry Sanders is one of the few people for whom “heck of an athlete” might be selling them way short.

We’re talking about a four-time NFL rushing yards leader, two-time NFL Offensive Player of the Year, six-time First-Team All-Pro, four-time Second-Team All-Pro, ten-time Pro Bowler, and former MVP. He made the All-Pro team and the Pro Bowl in each of his ten seasons in the league.

Sanders’ combination of elusiveness, acceleration, and lateral agility was unprecedented at the time, and few players have even come close to him since.

And with records for the most seasons with 1,500+ rushing yards (5), 150+ rushing yard games (25), consecutive games with at least 100 rushing yards (14), and most games with at least 100 rushing yards in a season (14), there’s a legitimate case to be made about him as the greatest running back ever to live.