Shine a Light

September 23, 2022

By Noonefromtampa

No, I’m not going to talk about a song by The Rolling Stone or Elton John. These are some personal thoughts inspired by my recent interactions with the media covering the Washington franchise.

Journalism has been sold to America as reporters shining a light into darkness to uncover the truth. In reality journalism is a business and like any other business it is profit driven. Today, journalism seems to driven not by just covering the five W’s but how to frame a story to generate the most web traffic and social media impact. Negativity and controversy sells, mundane and accurate does not.

Where is this rant going? Well, I think we all can agree that Dan Snyder’s stewardship of the Washington football franchise has been at best less than stellar and at worse criminal. The fans, the reporters who cover the team, the players, the coaches and the front office people that are invested in the franchise has zero ability to change the ownership of the team. Only the NFL – that is, the other owners – have the power to force a change in ownership.

No matter the number of negative newspaper columns, blog articles, social media posts or TV spots that are produced, they cannot force Dan Snyder to sell the team. The NFL does have that power. Several years ago, the NFL sent out a communication regarding personal conduct. Here is the key part of that document:

It is a privilege to be part of the National Football League. Everyone who is part of the league must refrain from “conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in” the NFL. This includes owners, coaches, players, other team employees, game officials, and employees of the league office, NFL Films, NFL Network, or any other NFL business.

Conduct by anyone in the league that is illegal, violent, dangerous, or irresponsible puts innocent victims at risk, damages the reputation of others in the game, and undercuts public respect and support for the NFL. We must endeavor at all times to be people of high character; we must show respect for others inside and outside our workplace; and we must strive to conduct ourselves in ways that favorably reflect on ourselves, our teams, the communities we represent, and the NFL.

That communication lays the groundwork for the league commissioner or any member of the executive committee to levy charges pursuant to the process outlined in Article VIII of the NFL Constitution and Bylaws. To force an ownership sale, three-fourths of the other owners would have to vote to uphold the charges.

So, if your agenda is to encourage Dan Snyder to move on from being the owner of the Washington NFL franchise, that’s the way to go. The league commissioner Roger Goodell and the members of the executive committee should be held accountable for not acting in a strong enough manner to deal with the allegations surrounding Dan Snyder’s operation of the franchise.

A secondary source of pressure are the league’s economic partners. The largest part of the economic engine for the NFL are the TV deals that value of which are derived by the advertising revenue.  The firms that advertise on NFL game as well as the marketing co-partners (like the official providers to the NFL) should also be held accountable for subsidizing this bad behavior.

The problem is to really punish Dan Snyder, the support of a large number (24 to be exact) of the other NFL owners to force the sale via the NFL rules. Unfortunately, those same owners have had their share of issues over the last 10 years:

• Jimmy Haslam, owner of the Browns, was the chief executive of a truck stop company that was charged with defrauding customers in a fuel rebate scam.
• Robert Kraft, New Patriots owner, was arrested for solicitation in Florida as a massage parlor
• Jim Irsay, owner of the Colts, was charged with DUI and drug possession.
• Vikings owner Zygi Wilf (and other family members) committed civil fraud against their business partners and violated civil racketeering laws.
• Dolphins owner Stephen Ross was found by the IRS to have taken part of a tax avoidance scheme. Also, the former coach, Brian Flores, accused the owner of tanking games to get a higher draft pick.

With so many owners already co-opted by their own poor behavior, I do not see them holding another owner accountable especially if that owner does not want to give up the franchise voluntarily. There are only 32 NFL franchises in the world which make it one of the most elite clubs in the world.

Personally, I will continue to defend the franchise and what it was meant to me and my family, while continuing to dislike the owner who has done a great disservice to many but especially to the fan base of a once proud franchise. He seems to be serious (this time?) about making the franchise better, but he also needs to be held accountable for the sins of the past.

And to the media, please go after the people who are responsible for this ongoing disturbing situation, the NFL owners (especially members of the executive committee), the NFL Commissioner and the companies who advertise and partner with the NFL. If there really is a personal conduct policy for all owners, players and employees, make sure the punishments apply equally to all. Shine a light on that and hold the league accountable for their actions too.

It is not impossible for a sports league to get rid of owner.

2014 saw the NBA act when Clippers owner Donald Sterling was accused of racism, and had a lifetime ban imposed upon him. Before the owners could vote to terminate his ownership, the Sterling family announced plans to sell the team.

In 2017, Jerry Richardson, the former Carolina Panthers owner, was accused of having committed sexual harassment and ending up selling the team. He is the only NFL owner who’s had to sell his team as a result of accusations, although he did it voluntarily, most likely after being counseled by someone in the league.

For reference, the NBA last week released a 43-page report based on an independent law firm’s 10-month investigation into allegations of racism, misogyny and other workplace misconduct against Robert Sarver. This week Sarver announced his intention to sell his NBA and WNBA teams after receiving a one-year suspension and $10 million fine.

So, getting rid of a “bad” owner can be done.