AP

Hall of Fame cornerback Darrell Green always had great speed, and he can still backpedal.

Green and fellow Redskins legend Art Monk were drawn into a discussion about the Redskins nickname yesterday, and Green said “It deserves and warrants conversation because somebody is saying, ‘Hey, this offends me.'”

But he came back today and said he did not want the team to change its name, saying he was simply advocating a discussion.

“In no way I want to see the Redskins change their name,” Green told 106.7 The Fan. “So that just makes that clear. And I’ll speak for Art, there’s no way he wants it, and I guarantee he didn’t say it, and I know I didn’t say it. . . .

“What my real comment, in response to the question was, ‘Does it deserve merit?’” Green continued. “And my comments were that, ‘Look, if it offended somebody. If somebody was offended, then I think it merits at least a discussion.’ I mean, goodness, I mean, people should be able to say ‘Hey, you offended me’ and somebody should be able to have a dialogue. Now, where it lands, that’s another thing.

“You know and I know, in your industry, certain people, you know, they want to have different agendas and they’ve got stuff to say, and you know, you want people to think this.”

If Green wasn’t comfortable with the issue, he should have stayed away from it in the first place, knowing how hot a button he was pushing in Washington and beyond.