The Washington Football Team should become the Shakespeares cause there's always drama even in the quietest of times.
The slightest hint of an ownership change awakened hope in those fallen over the dark reign of Dan Snyder, who is amid his own circle of lawsuits coming and going. Meanwhile, a quarterback who rose from certain retirement suddenly poisoned his potential return. And, the exiled team president is suddenly alleged to be the enemy within.
"Redskins – The Musical" begs to be written. Choreography by The Hogs, lyrics by Fred Smoot.
We open with a scene of Snyder and Bruce Allen, putters to other's throat in the owner's office. Turns out Allen may not have been fired after last season for simple incompetence over a decade that deserved a tar and feathering at the least.
Allen may have been Brutus, conspiring with minority owner Dwight Schar to undermine Snyder and force the team's sale. A FrontOfficeSports.com report cited details from an ongoing lawsuit by Snyder against MEA WorldWide, an Indian media company that alleged Snyder was involved in sex trafficking via Jeffrey Epstein, of potential betrayal.
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Court documents cite 87 phone calls totaling 22 hours between Allen and John Moag, founder of Moag & Co., hired by Schar and two fellow minority owners whose potential sale of 40 percent of the team to Los Angeles investors is currently blocked by Snyder. Connecting the dots first discovered in December is pretty simple and naturally part of another lawsuit.
That Allen would betray Snyder seems comparable to Mike Pence testifying against Donald Trump before a Congressional impeachment trial. At least Pence kept his mouth shut despite nearly being captured or killed by Trump-inspired rioters. Allen had no business running an NFL franchise for a day, much less a decade. Yet, allegations say he is the mole that might lead to Snyder being forced to sell.
Meanwhile, trumpets offstage foretell the coming of the king – Jeff Bezos. The FrontOfficeSports.com story also notes Moag talking to Bezos' attorney. Now, who called who wasn't cited. If Moag called Bezos' people asking if they're interested, that's not really a story. If Bezos' people called first, it's a minor story. Bezos isn't becoming Snyder's minority partner. The world's richest man could literally buy every NFL team, so why bother with a small stake? At best, maybe Bezos wants to own 100 percent. Bezos has been long rumored to be interested in a team that's not for sale, so there's a second act to this play.
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But just the slim chance of Snyder selling has fans already changing the team name to Washington Prime with the stadium being filled with Optimist Prime supporters. Fans desperately want Snyder and his drama gone, but there's no way to force it. Maybe Bezos could write a check with a 4 and lots of zeroes, but he didn't get rich throwing away money that might be better spent on his exhausted warehouse workers.
Would Bezos even be a better owner than Snyder? Certainly, Bezos sees the team as an even bigger ATM than Snyder. Drones carrying beers throughout the stands. Same-day shipping of merchandise. It will be another tax upon serfs known as supporters. But, maybe Bezos won't come off his yacht to make first-round picks.
Meanwhile, the locker room is ablaze. Alex Smith's glorious return last fall was worthy of a poem often told by late owner Jack Kent Cooke of a warrior who vowed to rise from the battlefield and once more lead his brothers to glory. Sir Andrew Barton, a 16th-century Scottish admiral who fought the British, wrote:
"I am hurt, but I am not slain.
I'll lay me down and bleed awhile
Then I'll rise and fight again."
The knight of the burgundy and gold felt betrayed. Smith returned after nearly losing his leg and life in a game two years earlier to lead Washington to the playoffs. But, missing the postseason with another injury led to bitterness from Smith in a GQ interview released on Tuesday.
Smith claimed the new coaching staff didn't want him. Ah, unloved is what Shakespeare wrote best. That the team was worried over Smith's health was dismissed by the quarterback. Knights of the Pigskin don't worry about storms. They are the storm and Smith threw a few lightning bolts that certainly foretells his exit stage right.
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The curtain falls on another whirlwind that surrounds the Ashburn training facility. Yet, it won't remain lowered long as the troubled franchise fights amongst itself once more.
The Bard doesn't have enough ink to capture this drama.
Rick Snider has covered Washington sports since 1978. Follow him on Twitter: @Snide_Remarks.
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