It’s hard enough for an NFL team to win without any distractions. So when those distractions pile up seemingly every week, it takes a toll. That is a big reason why the Washington Commanders are 1-4. They had hoped to enter a pivotal Thursday Night Football game against the Chicago Bears without dealing with any media controversies. Apparently, that was too much to ask. Things started with head coach Ron Rivera openly throwing quarterback Carson Wentz under the bus for the team’s bad start.
That was bad enough. Sure enough, things got so much worse mere hours before kickoff. ESPN dropped an explosive column detailing an inside look at what is happening with embattled Commanders owner Dan Snyder. For those who somehow don’t know, the man has caught tons of criticism in recent months after it was revealed his workplace culture was rife with sexual harassment, questionable accounting, and an overall toxic environment. Now it appears the story goes deeper, with Snyder threatening everybody behind the scenes, from league executives to other owners, with sensitive dirt if they try to vote him out of the NFL.
The details of this are insane.
Snyder recently told a close associate that he has gathered enough secrets to “blow up” several NFL owners, the league office and even commissioner Roger Goodell.
“They can’t f— with me,” he has said privately.
Senior team executives and confidants have heard him say it since he was considered merely one of the worst owners in sports. Now that he’s facing investigations on multiple fronts and running out of high-powered allies, he alludes more than ever to the dirty work. Snyder, now 57 years old, has told associates he will not lose his beloved franchise without a fight that would end with multiple casualties.
“The NFL is a mafia,” he recently told an associate. “All the owners hate each other.”
“That’s not true,” one veteran owner says. “All the owners hate Dan.”
Something has to give, possibly as soon as the NFL league meetings in New York on Tuesday. Many owners and top league executives tell ESPN they would like to see Snyder removed as owner. It would clean the slate for a storied team and a cherished fan base and reignite the pursuit for a desperately needed stadium.
Chicago Bears fans should feel grateful the McCaskeys aren’t Snyder.
While nobody is saying Virginia and George are the guiding beacons of excellent ownership in this league, they are infinitely preferable to whatever the hell Snyder is. They conduct themselves with class and dignity. They run a respectable organization, even if it’s not always successful. Not only has Washington been mostly a laughing stock on the field for most of Snyder’s tenure, but it’s also universally reviled off it as well.
Washington fans no doubt pray the league has the guts to remove him from power. They’ve been begging to get rid of Snyder for over a decade. The NFL finally seems to have enough evidence to justify the decision. It comes down to how seriously they’re taking his threats of retaliation.
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Either way, the Chicago Bears have no excuses going into this game. They’re at home and facing an opponent considerably more banged up and distracted than them. Wentz is nursing an injury to his throwing arm. Rivera is under siege for his comments. Now the team owner is again making himself a media lightning rod they didn’t ask for.
