The Washington Football Team has hired former NFL player Jason Wright as its new president, making him the first African American to ascend to that role in league history.
‘This team, at this time, is an ideal opportunity for me,’ Wright said in a statement. ‘The transformation of the Washington Football Team is happening across all aspects of the organization — from football to operations to branding to culture — and will make us a truly modern and aspirational franchise. We want to set new standards for the NFL.’
An undrafted rookie out of Northwester in 2004, Wright played running back for the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, and Arizona Cardinals before retiring in 2011 to earn his business degree from the University of Chicago.
The hiring is another significant change for team owner Dan Snyder, who has in the past nine months fired president and longtime confidant Bruce Allen after another losing season, hired Rivera, revamped the front office and medical staffs, bowed to pressure from sponsors to drop the name ‘Redskins’ and been forced to confront allegations of sexual harassment by members of the organization from former employees.
The 38-year-old Wright is the NFL’s youngest team president, and just the fourth former player to serve in that role. He recently worked at a strategy and management consulting firm in Washington DC.
The Washington Football Team has hired former NFL player Jason Wright as its new president, making him the first African American to ascend to that role in league history
The hiring is another significant change for team owner Dan Snyder (pictured), who has in the past nine months fired president and longtime confidant Bruce Allen after another losing season, hired Rivera, revamped the front office and medical staffs, bowed to pressure from sponsors to drop the name ‘Redskins’ and been forced to confront allegations of sexual harassment by members of the organization from former employees
The NFL has struggled to hire minority candidates to front office and head-coaching positions. Currently only three NFL head coaches are African American, despite the league’s players being overwhelmingly black. By comparison, the NBA currently has eight African Americans working as team general managers and another seven working as head coaches, following the New Orleans Pelicans’ firing of Alvin Gentry last week.
Snyder believes Wright is a perfect fit for the beleaguered franchise.
‘If I could custom design a leader for this important time in our history, it would be Jason,’ Snyder said in a statement. ‘His experience as a former player, coupled with his business acumen, gives him a perspective that is unrivaled in the league. We will not rest until we are a championship caliber team, on and off the field.’
Wright, like Rivera, will report directly to Snyder while overseeing Washington’s operations, finance, sales and marketing departments. Although Bruce Allen handled football operations decisions, Rivera is expected to handle those duties now while Wright focuses on business operations.
An undrafted rookie out of Northwester in 2004, Wright played running back for the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, and Arizona Cardinals before retiring in 2011 to earn his business degree from the University of Chicago
Rivera said he remembers Wright as a player and has grown to realize the two share many of the same values that should help them work together.
‘It is no surprise to me that he went on to achieve the caliber of success that Jason has in his time in the business world,’ Rivera said. ‘Because he knows the NFL firsthand and how fast it moves, I am excited to have him on board to head up the front office and operations.’
The team has been without a president since the firing of Allen, the son of former head coach George Herbert Allen and brother of former Virginia Governor and US Senator George Felix Allen.
Emily Applegate (above) and 14 other unnamed women spoke out to the Washington Post about Washington’s allegedly hostile workplace
Washington hired Rivera, the former Carolina Panthers head coach, to replace the fired Jay Gruden in January, ostensibly adding some stability to a franchise that had not won a postseason game since 2005.
In late July, following years of pressure from Native American groups who believe ‘Redskins’ to be a racist nickname, the franchise temporarily adopted the moniker ‘the Washington Football Team’ as a placeholder for the upcoming season.
Shortly thereafter, 15 women spoke out to the Washington Post, accusing the franchise of harboring a hostile environment in which sexual harassment and verbal abuse ran rampant. Snyder was not implicated in that scandal, and has since hired a law firm to conduct an internal investigation while vowing to eradicate such behavior from the organization.
Snyder was not personally accused of any misconduct.
Wright is optimistic that things will change within the franchise, telling one local DC-area radio station that he and Snyder share the same beliefs on moving forward.
‘My ultimate goal is expanding the value of the franchise, and that’s the dividing line,’ Wright told WJFK-FM/106.7 The Fan on Monday. ‘And where they intersect, we’ve got shared values, we’ve got shared culture, and we’re gonna operate really well together.’
In this January 19, 2011, file photo, then-Arizona Cardinals running back Jason Wright, center, talks to the media on Capitol Hill in Washington about labor issues within the league
The team’s minority owners consist of FedEx Corp. CEO Fred Smith, Black Diamond Capital chairman Robert Rothman (right) and NVR Inc. board chairman Dwight Schar (left), who control a combined 40 percent stake worth roughly $1.4billion, according to Forbes’ $3.4billion valuation in 2019
FedEx Corp. CEO Fred Smith (pictured) thought he found a buyer at least once in the last year, according to the Wall Street Journal, but Snyder was slow to approve the deal and the buyer eventually bought a stake in another team
While Wright’s hiring could signal a change for the embattled franchise, there are other problems beyond the nickname and hostile workplace claims.
For instance, Snyder recently filed a lawsuit in India against a local media company, MEA Worldwide, which he claims slandered him in several articles last month.
And last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that the team’s minority owners are pressuring Snyder to sell his 60 percent stake amid growing internal disputes for the scandal-plagued franchise.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the issues among Washington’s owners predate the recent name change and some of the other problems facing the franchise.
One parody Twitter account poked fun at fans pledging loyalty to a team that has endured constant roster upheaval from year to year
The team’s minority owners consist of FedEx Corp. CEO Fred Smith, Black Diamond Capital chairman Robert Rothman and NVR Inc. board chairman Dwight Schar, who control a combined 40 percent stake worth roughly $1.4billion, according to Forbes’ $3.4billion valuation in 2019.
The three reportedly enlisted the help of an investment firm to sell their shares in July amid internal disagreements with Snyder, who had steadfastly refused to change the team’s 87-year-old nickname, the Redskins, amid pressure from Native Americans, social justice groups, and sponsors, who claimed it was racist.
Smith, Rothman, and Schar are still reportedly interested in selling their shares, but might need Snyder’s help to get a fair price.
As explained by The Wall Street Journal, it can be difficult to get fair market value for a minority stake in an NFL team, unless the agreement provides a clear path to majority ownership. So the minority owners’ shares would likely be worth more to a potential buyer if there were a real chance to purchase Snyder’s stake as well.
Smith thought he found a buyer at least once in the last year, according to the Wall Street Journal, but Snyder was slow to approve the deal and the buyer eventually bought a stake in another team.
Rothman and Schar have since decided to sell their shares with the help of investment bank Moag & Co.
Protestors rally outside of Lambeau Field prior to the game between the Green Bay Packers and the Washington Redskins on December 8, 2019 in Green Bay, Wisconsin
In this October 24, 2019, file photo, Native American leaders protest against the Redskins team name outside US Bank Stadium before an NFL football game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Washington Redskins in Minneapolis
Washington does not have a reputation as the NFL’s most progressive franchise.
The Redskins famously became the last NFL team to integrate back in 1962, when then-team owner George Preston Marshall was pressured to acquire wide receiver Bobby Mitchell, who went on to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Interestingly, the team removed Marshall’s name from the Redskins’ Ring of Fame at FedEx Field amid national uproar over the killing of George Floyd.
George P. Marshall was forced by the NFL to integrate in 1962. He reluctantly acquired Bobby Mitchell, who went on to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Mitchell died in April
Although he inherited a team that won three Super Bowls, most recently at the end of the 1991 season, Snyder’s Redskins have taken a nose dive over the last two decades.
Since Snyder bought the team in 1999, the team has a 142-193-1 record with eight head coaches and a whopping 21 different starting quarterbacks over that time.
Snyder has also battled the Washington media, once trying and failing to ban Washington City Paper beat writer Dave McKenna after one of his columns featured the team owner pictured with devil horns and a beard — a depiction Snyder insisted was antisemitic.
He even sued the paper and McKenna, but ultimately dropped the proceedings.
In recent years the Redskins have taken criticism for signing players facing legal problems, such as linebacker Reuben Foster, who was arrested twice for domestic violence, although the charges were dropped both times.
WASHINGTON NFL TEAM EMPLOYEES ACCUSED OF MISCONDUCT OR NEGLIGENCE:
Former Washington Redskins director of pro personnel Alex Santos
Director of pro personnel Alex Santos: Six former employees and two reporters who covered the team told the Washington Post that Santos made inappropriate remarks to them about their appearances. He also asked them if they were interested in him romantically. In 2019, he allegedly pinched Rhiannon Walker, a reporter for The Athletic, and told her she had ‘an ass like a wagon.’ This resulted in an internal investigation. Another reporter, the Ringer’s Nora Princiotti, also accused Santos of harassing her. Santos, who declined to speak with the Post, was fired this past week.
Team radio play-by-play announcer Larry Michael: Seven former employees told the Post that ‘the voice of the Washington Redskins’ frequently talked openly about female co-workers looks, often making sexually disparaging remarks. He was once caught on a ‘hot mic’ in 2018 discussing the looks of one intern, six sources told the Post. Michael, who declined to speak with the Post, retired after 16 seasons on Wednesday.
Former radio announcer Larry Michael (left) and former assistant director of pro personnel Richard Mann II (right)
Assistant director of pro personnel Richard Mann II: In a text message obtained by the Post, Mann told a female colleague that he and other men in the office debated whether she had plastic surgery on her breasts. He also warned another female coworker to expect an ‘inappropriate hug’ from him, adding, ‘don’t worry that will be a stapler in my pocket, nothing else.’ Mann declined to speak with the Post after being fired last week.
Former president of business operations Dennis Greene
President of business operations Dennis Greene: Five former employees told the Post that Greene asked female sales staffers to wear revealing outfits and flirt with wealthy season ticket holders and suite holders. Greene worked for the club for 17 years until 2018, when it was revealed that he had sold access to team cheerleaders at a bikini photo shoot in Costa Rica as part of a ticket package. According to a New York Times investigation, the 2013 calendar shoot did not involve any sex, but team officials did worry the cheerleaders by taking their passports. Some cheerleaders say they were required to be topless, although the shoot did not include any nudity. After a 14-hour shoot one day, nine of the 36 cheerleaders were reportedly asked to escort suite holders to a local nightclub. Several of the women began to cry, according to the Times. Greene declined to comment and has not worked for the team since being fired in 2018.
Chief operating officer Mitch Gershman: Former team Emily Applegate said he would routinely compliment her body while also regularly berating her for insignificant problems, like printer malfunctions. Her allegations were supported by two other female former employees. When contacted, Gershman told the Post, ‘I barely even remember who she is,’ adding that he ‘would apologize to anyone who thought I was verbally abusive.’ Gershman left the team in 2015.
Team president Bruce Allen: Although he is not accused of any misconduct, Applegate claims Allen must have known about the abuse she was receiving because ‘he sat 30 feet away from me… and saw me sobbing at my desk several times a week.’ The brother of former Virginia Governor and US Senator George Allen, Bruce Allen was fired after the 2019 season.
Majority owner Dan Snyder: The 55-year-old billionaire is not accused of any misconduct with female employees, but the Post’s sources say he presided over a lax corporate environment where misconduct was allowed to occur. Snyder was also accused of belittling executives, according to three members of the executive staff. Specifically, he mocked Dennis Greene for being a college cheerleader, once allegedly ordering him to do cartwheels for his amusement. Snyder remains the team’s majority owner.
Neither team owner Dan Snyder (left) or recently fired team president Bruce Allen (right) are accused of any misconduct, but sources did tell the Post that they should have been aware about the workplace culture, and neither did enough to stop it