College Football

Robert Griffin III’s ‘how much wood can these Beavers take’ line earned a call from bosses

Robert Griffin III has gained notoriety for his enthusiasm on the air since joining ESPN following his NFL playing career.

But one such incident got him in a little bit of trouble with his ESPN higher-ups.

While joining FanDuel TV’s “Up & Adams” with Kay Adams, Griffin recounted a time when he was on analyst duties for a college football game featuring Oregon State, nicknamed the Beavers, who were playing against the Stanford Cardinal — which Griffin points out, is a tree — on October 8 of the 2022 season.

One particular comment of his got his bosses’ collective attention.

“Early in the game,” he recalls, “I’m like, ‘Let’s see how much wood these Beavers can take.’” 

That comment, a reference to the Stanford mascot, did not go over well in Bristol, Connecticut, the location of ESPN’s headquarters.

Robert Griffin III tells Kay Adams about the joke that got him in trouble in 2022 during an Oregon State and Stanford football game.

Adams puts her head down as Griffin III continued.

“It wasn’t immediate, but… I’m not gonna lie, I had like six other borderline things that I said in that game,” Griffin added.

Robert Griffin III, former NFL quarterback and TV Analyst for ESPN, looks on during the first half of a game between the Florida State Seminoles and the Syracuse Orange at Doak Campbell Stadium on October 14, 2023 in Tallahassee, Florida.
Robert Griffin III looks on during the first half of a game between the Florida State Seminoles and the Syracuse Orange on October 14, 2023. Getty Images

“I got a call after that game because it was way too much. It was egregious. It wasn’t like, ‘Hey, you’re gonna get fired if you keep doing this.’ But it was like, ‘Hey, you probably shouldn’t keep doing this,’” he said.