Sorry (most) sportswriters, but you did take RG III out of context...

I think most people would agree that it's often times difficult to admit when we're wrong, but it happens to all of us, and the best way to learn from our mistakes is to admit them and attempt to make the necessary changes so we don't make those same mistakes in the future. Some people definitely have more trouble admitting those very mistakes than others, however, and one such group in recent days has been sportswriters. 

Following his interview with WJLA, Washington Redskins starting quarterback Robert Griffin III saw these headlines across most sports websites: 

- "Robert Griffin III thinks he's the best quarterback in the league"

- "RG III feels he's the best quarterback in the NFL"

Did the Redskins quarterback technically say those very words in succession? Yes. However, when included with the rest of the surrounding context, was that ultimately the message and point of his comment, and did readers garner an accurate picture of his statement via the short headline?" No. 

Here was Griffin's quote in its totality: 

“I don’t feel like I have to come out here and show anybody anything or why I’m better than this guy or better than that guy. It’s more about going out and affirming that for me, I go out and I play, I know I’m the best quarterback on this team. I feel like I’m the best quarterback in the league and I have to go out and show that. Any athlete at any level, if they concede to someone else, they’re not a top competitor, they’re not trying to be the best that they can be. There’s guys in this league that have done way more than me. But, I still view myself as the best because that’s what I work toward every single day.”

That's right. Most of the sports media cherry-picked 10 words from a 126-word quote (7.9%) for their misleading headlines. 

To his credit, Frank Schwab of Shutdown Corner grilled the sports media on this, as he wrote the following in his article, "Robert Griffin III gives great interview, then gets his words twisted around": 

"If you read that all, it makes sense. You don't want to concede if you're competing at the highest level. It's about proving to himself that he is a top NFL quarterback, and not trying to show he's better than this guy or that guy. Others have done more but he has the vision of being the best because he wants that mindset. It's very interesting to hear that side of his mental side of the game.

Oh, and then 'I feel like I’m the best quarterback in the league' just became the latest Internet meme, grinding a pretty thoughtful interview into a few words and using it to rip Griffin. Ugh. "

Given the sports media's responses to the allegation they took Griffin's words out of context, it seems that, along with J.A. Adande and Bomani Jones (among others, I'm sure), Frank Schwab is the only one who understood what RG III was trying to say; that or he was one of the only sportswriters to actually listen to Griffin's full interview, the noted comment in particular. After watching ESPN's Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption the past couple days, not to mention reading several headlines regarding the subject, I'd say approximately 80%+ of sportswriters feel they did no wrong in this case (that may be an understatement), as they continually spout, "Oh, stop it! He wasn't taken out of context! He said what he said! Get over it!"

I'm sorry, but yes he was. It's called quote mining or contextomy, which can be defined as, "the practice of misquoting someone by shortening the quotation or by leaving out surrounding words or sentences that would place the quotation in context." Approximately how many words were quotes by Griffin by most sportswriters? 10. How many comprised the full quote? 126, or 7.9%. Did the headline provide an accurate depiction of what the Redskins quarterback was trying to say? No. So, yes, he was taken out of context.

It reminds me of the conservative news media taking President Barack Obama's "You didn't build that!" and then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's "What difference does it make?" quotes out of context.

GOP's version of a Barack Obama quote: "If you've got a business - you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen."

The full quote: "There are a lot of wealthy, successful Americans who agree with me - because they want to give something back. They know they didn't - look, if you've been successful, you didn't get there on your own. I'm always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart. Thee area a lot of smart people out there. It must be because I worked harder than everybody else. Let me tell you something - there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there.

If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business - you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen. The Internet didn't get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.

The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together. There are some things, just like fighting fires, we don't do on our own. I mean, imagine if everybody had their own fire service. That would be a hard way to organize fighting fires.

So we say to ourselves, ever since the founding of this country, you know what, there are some things we do better together. That's how we funded the GI Bill. That's how we created the middle class. That's how we built the Golden Gate Bridge or the Hoover Dam. That's how we invented the Internet. That's how we sent a man to the moon. We rise or fall together as one nation and as one people, and that's the reason I'm running for President - because I still believe in that idea. You're not on your own, we're in this together."

Scorecard

Barack Obama's full quote: 328 words

The GOP's version of it: 15 words

Percentage of the original quote the GOP used: 4.6%

GOP's version of a Hillary Clinton quote: "Was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night and decided they'd go kill some Americans? What difference, at this point, does it make?"

The full quote: "With all due respect, the fact is we had four dead Americans. Was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided that they'd go kill some Americans? What difference at this point does it make? It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, Senator. Now, honestly, I will do my best to answer your questions about this, but the fact is that people were trying in real time to get to the best information. The IC has a process, I understand, going with the other committees to explain how these talking points came out. But you know, to be clear, it is, from my perspective, less important today looking backwards as to why these militants decided they did it than to find them and bring them to justice, and then maybe we'll figure out what was going on in the meantime."

Scorecard

Hillary Clinton's first full quote: 165 words

The GOP's version of it: 33 words

Percentage of the original quote the GOP used: 20.0%

In both of these cases, like with Griffin, the media misrepresented the message the speakers were trying to get across, and by doing this, misled readers. In other words, in all three cases, the media was guilty of contextomy, or taking the speakers out of context with their quotes.

If these out-of-context deniers want to continue with their denial, I'd just like to ask them this: How would you feel if you made the following comment and saw this headline as a result?

Sportswriter: "There's just something about bowling, you know? I love sticking three of my fingers in holes, rolling my ball down the lane, and hearing the sound of a strike. A lot of people don't see it as a true sport, but it is. It takes: Eye-hand coordination, touch, precision, a certain calmness, determination, competitiveness, strategy, and strength. If you were going to ask me about my best bowling moment, it'd have to be when I stuck my fingers in my wife's friend Judy's ball and threw a 300! It was incredible!"

Headline: "Sportswriter admits to sticking his fingers in his wife's friend Judy"

I rest my case...

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/robert-griffin-iii-gives-great-interview--then-gets-his-words-twisted-around-202640784.html

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/contextomy

http://thekind-heartedsmartaleck.blogspot.com/2014/11/taking-hillary-clinton-out-of-context.html