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News | Washington Commanders - Commanders.com

What a Character: He's 'Dolemite Jenkins'

The Clinton Portis characters are back.

Clinton Portis arrived at his weekly media session at Redskins Park dressed up as a character he named "Dolemite Jenkins."

The character looked like "Napoleon Dynamite," from the movie of the same name about an alienated teen-ager who tries to get a friend voted as class president.

Portis wore a black curly wig, a white T-shirt with the words "Vote For Santana," skin-tight Wrangler jeans and black rubber boots.

Portis spoke with a soft voice. He said he was lobbying for Santana Moss to be voted for NFC Offensive Player of the Month.

Portis arrived at his media session just as assistant head coach-defense Gregg Williams was holding court among reporters outside Redskins Park. The television cameras were instantly drawn to the Redskins' running back in his get-up.

Portis's first word as Dolemite Jenkins?

"Gosh," he said.

Then he said: "Santana offers you his protection."

Those are both lines, or variations of lines, from the movie.

Last year, Portis made a habit of dressing up for his media sessions every week, but he had held off this season until Thursday.

Portis dressed up as a character named Southeast Jerome last year, right before the Redskins played the Giants at the Meadowlands in late October.

That's when his characters started to take on a life of their own, complete with a storyline that evolved through the course of the season. For example, Southeast Jerome mysteriously disappeared after the Redskins lost to the Giants 36-0.

Asked on Thursday why he chose to dress up, he said: "Because Southeast Jerome came up missing at the same time last year. I'm looking for him. I have to find him. Someone has to have seen something."

Where might Jenkins look? "In New York City? Right by the Statue of Liberty."

Asked what his teammates thought of his character, he replied: "I think they seem to enjoy it. At least I do."

Wide receiver Brandon Lloyd was among Redskins who got their first taste of Portis's characters.

"That was good," Lloyd said, laughing. "We were doing impressions of Napoleon Dynamite all during training camp. He could have done a little better on his impression, though."

Added Moss: "I just like seeing him dress up. He does some things that no one would think of doing."

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