So far, life as an NFL player has been mostly sunshine, lollipops, and roses for Robert Griffin III. He's become one of Washington's most popular athletes since he was selected by the Redskins with the second overall pick in April's NFL Draft, and he hasn't even played a game yet.
But if a report in the Waco Tribune is correct, Robert Griffin III may have gotten a taste of the dark side of fame in recent weeks.
A federal judge has set a $25,000 bond for a 25-year-old man sources say is accused of trying to blackmail Robert Griffin III.
Richard Khamir Hurd, a former Baylor basketball player, is charged with extortion following his Friday arrest by FBI agents.
More after the jump.
Tremendous work of identity concealment by the authorities, by the way.
"Hurd communicated that he had derogatory information on a client of B.D., and that he intended to release that information to the media to damage or injure the reputation of B.D.'s client unless the client paid Hurd a substantial sum of money," states the affidavit.
Griffin is not named in the document, but sources said Sunday that the Heisman Trophy winner was the target of the alleged extortion attempt. His manager's name is Ben Dogra.
We're not sure what information, Hurd had on Griffin III, though we have our suspicions. And with that, we officially welcome Robert Griffin III to the life of fame and fortune.
UPDATE: Pro Football Talk reports that whatever Hurd did have on Griffin,
it was ultimately nothing illegal or scandalous or problematic in any way
Now, the words "scandalous" and "problematic" mean different things to different people, so we doubt it was entirely benign. But either way, it's good that this was dealt with.