Robert Griffin III first professional athlete to wear Roman numerals on jersey?

Posted: 09:59 AM ET May 25, 2012

By Will Brinson | Senior NFL Blogger

RG3 might be the first professional athlete with Roman numerals on his jersey. (Getty Images)
If you've been following the rise of Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III, you've undoubtedly seen a jersey with his name on it like the one above. But you may or may not have been thrown off by the fact that Griffin's jersey actually contains a suffix on it.

That's because the NFL, per Uniwatch's Paul Lukas, changed the rules for what was allowable on the back of a jersey. "Jr" and "Sr" and "III" and whatnot may now be stitched on the back of jerseys, whereas it was previously against the rules to do so.

Lukas confirms with the Redskins that they team is also planning on having RG3 wear a "Griffin III" jersey during games. And Lukas, the sports fashion historian of sorts, doesn't just believe that RG3 (RGIII?) is the first NFL player to wear Roman Numerals on Back (RNOB) of his jersey, but the first professional athlete (in the big four sports of NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL) to do so.

But does it make sense for Griffin to have a "III" on his jersey? Well, from his perspective, absolutely. As I noted when RG3's first commercial with Adidas came out, there is a remarkable symmetry between the suffix attached to his name and the logo of the shoe company that happens to pay him a lot of money. Lukas actually believes that's why Griffin chose Adidas over Nike; if it's true, it's beyond savvy.

And in other random suffix-related-uniform news, Lukas reports that Redskins running back Roy Helu will be rolling with "Helu, Jr." on the back of his uniform in 2012, which is what he did in college.

Players who actually have suffixes should enjoy this opportunity now, before a certain someone decides to change his name to Pepe, Jr and ruin it for everyone.

Tags: Robert Griffin, Roy Helu, Washington Redskins, NFL

View the original article here

Report: Roman Harper, Will Smith could face bounty punishment from NFL

Posted: 09:22 AM ET April 17, 2012

By Will Brinson | Senior NFL Blogger

The NFL has yet to hand down punishments for players involved in the Saints bounty scandal. But it could be (very) soon, and word's starting to leak about who could be punished.

We already knew that linebacker Jonathan Vilma was "bracing for" a two-to-eight game suspension, but two new names emerged Monday afternoon: Roman Harper and Will Smith.

According to Jason LaCanfora of NFL Network, Harper and Smith are "featured prominently in the NFL's investigation" and "could end up facing more severe discipline" than many of the other players potentially involved in the bounty case.

One thing that these three players have in common: they were all Saints for the duration of the time Gregg Williams was there. Scott Fujita, as LaCanfora notes, was involved in a recent meeting, but only spent one year with the Saints.

It would make a lot of sense that the people who receive the majority of the punishment will be a significant part of the culture that Williams -- the perceived ringleader of the bounty punishment -- helped to install in New Orleans.

Vilma, whether or right or wrong, is considered the primary culprit on the players' end of things. It'll be interesting to see how the length of his suspension affects the rest of the players -- a big suspension for Vilma could indicate he's getting the brunt of the punishment or it could set the bar high for additional punishments to other players.

A shorter punishment would limit for Vilma would likely limit the exposure to suspension for the remainder of the defenders being eyed for suspension by the NFL.

Tags: Jonathan Vilma, Roman Harper, Scott Fujita, Will Smith, New Orleans Saints, NFL

View the original article here