Golden State Warriors superstar Kevin Durant suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday night, an incident that brought back unfortunate memories for Baltimore Ravens quarterback Robert Griffin III.
Why?
Well, because Durant took a huge risk by attempting to come back for that Game 5, as he had missed over a month with a calf strain that had not had a whole lot of time to heal.
Griffin remembers his rookie campaign with the Washington Redskins when he suffered an injury to the same knee on which he had reconstructive surgery in college. However, the Redskins played him in their Wild Card Round playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks, where Griffin wore a knee brace to protect it.
But, Griffin proceeded to injure his knee even further, which would ultimately result in surgery and permanently damage Griffin's career.
“I watched it as it was happening, and a lot of people have compared it to my situation,” Griffin said of Durant's injury to The Undefeated. “… He comes back in Game 5, and as soon as he goes down, the question flips. Then everybody starts asking why. Why was he even playing? So for me, yeah, it definitely brings back memories.”
Griffin added that any player is going to say they want to play if you give them the choice, so it's up to the team to tell a player that they need to sit.
“Everyone saw me limping around [during Washington’s January 2013 postseason game],” he wrote. “I know that. But I wasn’t looking at it that way. I was looking at it like I’m out here for my brothers. I’m out here for my team. And that was the only place I wanted to be.”
Now on his third NFL team, Griffin's career has never recovered.
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