( CNN ) -- One night , back when I was Robert Griffin III 's age , I drank six glasses of grain alcohol mixed with grape-flavored Juicy Juice . My roommate Anthony said it was a bad idea . My other roommate , Chris , also said it was a bad idea . My closest friend , Daniel , insisted it was n't merely a bad idea but the worst idea ever . `` You barely touch booze , '' he said . `` This wo n't end well . '' `` Quiet , '' I replied . `` I can handle it . '' That night , in room 102 of Russell Hall A at the University of Delaware , I vomited into a toilet for 45 straight minutes . Anthony , who was kindly holding up my head as the cool water reflected onto my face , repeatedly muttered , `` I told you so . ... I told you so . '' Alas , I was but a child . I lacked the maturity and wisdom to know what was for my own good . Sunday evening , during his team 's 24-14 playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks , Griffin , the Washington Redskins ' star rookie quarterback , insisted on remaining in the game despite being tossed around like a Raggedy Andy doll with the stuffing yanked out of its legs . During the first half , Griffin reinjured his previously sprained right knee after falling awkwardly while rolling out of the pocket . He rose gingerly and moments later could be seen behind the Redskins ' bench , having tape applied . This was nothing new for the kid . Earlier this season , in a December 9 game against the Ravens , Griffin sprained his lateral collateral ligament , missed the following week and returned with an awkwardly fitted black brace wrapped around the knee . SI : First slowed and then silenced , RGIII injury spells end for Redskins . This time , with the season on the line , Griffin and Mike Shanahan , Washington 's coach , engaged in a halftime conversation . According to Shanahan , the quarterback told him , `` Coach , there 's a difference between being injured and hurt . I can guarantee you I 'm hurt right now . Give me a chance to win this football game , because I guarantee I 'm not injured . '' So Griffin -- in his `` six glasses of grain alcohol mixed with grape-flavored Juicy Juice '' moment -- returned . And was pummeled . His once Willie Gault-esque speed was gone . His tight spirals had been replaced by Ryan Lindley-esque ducks . It reminded one not of a football game so much as the 1982 heavyweight title fight between Larry Holmes and Randall ( Tex ) Cobb , the one where Cobb left the ring so bloodied and beaten that Howard Cosell never again worked the sport . Much like prize fighters , defensive football players are trained to locate an opponent 's weakness and exploit it . If a guy 's arm is black and blue , nail it with the crown of your helmet . If a linemen is having trouble seeing with his left eye , gouge the right . There Sunday , in the pummeled form of RGIII , stood a walking , talking weakness . A battered quarterback , defenseless without his tools . The Seahawks , rightly , exploited it . When Shanahan heard Griffin 's plea , he should have looked across the locker room at his son , Kyle Shanahan , who serves as the team 's offensive coordindator . Were RGIII his son ( and not merely his quarterback ) , would he have sent him back on the field , sans a leg ? Would he have forced Kyle to face one of the NFL 's most vicious defenses without a full arsenal ? Shanahan should have thought of all the retired NFL players who can no longer walk , can no longer drive , can no longer feed themselves , who -- in the name of toughness and staying on the field -- are pathetic shells of their former selves . It has been reported that , earlier in the season , James Andrews , the renowned orthopedist , never cleared Griffin to play against the Ravens , that Shanahan had ignored proper protocols in the name of winning a stupid football game . ( Shanahan disputes this , however . ) But if Andrews had not cleared Griffin to play , the Redskins organization should be ashamed . If that 's the case , Robert Griffin III should n't be asking himself whether he can play . He should be asking himself whether anyone in power cares for his well-being . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jeff Pearlman .
Jeff Pearlman : We do things when we 're young and foolish ; wiser heads try to stop us . On Sunday , Redskins quarterback stayed in the game , worsening a leg injury . He says coach let him go back in ; Seahawks saw weakness , pummeled him . Pearlman : Shanahan should n't have let him play ; too many players ruined like this .