We got a little DAGGER! on the Kevin Sheehan Show Wednesday, as even former Wizards broadcaster Steve Buckhantz came by to discuss his thoughts on the pending sale of the Commanders, a move that will change the landscape of DC sports more than anything since the Nats moved to town in 2005.
Sheehan and Buckhantz go way back, and it was no surprise to learn that Buck is a big fan of the Josh Harris ownership group because of its local ties.
“I like the fact that it seems that if it is the Josh Harris group, it’s local guys,” Buckhantz said. “Mitchell Rales and his brother started this radio station, so not only are they local guys and the second-wealthiest family in the area, they’re sports guys. And, Josh Harris is from Chevy Chase; I don’t know him personally, and I know he has a lot of local ties in Philly, but if he were an owner here, he’d be involved again in the community.”
Buckhantz likes Harris better then Jeff Bezos, and doesn’t think Brian Davis’ bid is legit – but whoever it is, he echoes the sentiment that anyone is better than Dan Snyder.
“I grew up in Section 519 at RFK Stadium, life-long Redskins fan, and what I keep looking back at is just before he bought the team, this was one of the top five sports franchises in the world,” Buckhantz said. “That brand carried weight, and it took two decades to tarnish it, which is just unfathomable to people like us who have been around forever. This town was all Redskins, and they were always the topic of conversation – they still are the biggest thing in this town, but the brand has been tarnished to the point where people stayed away because of him…and it makes me sick. Has there ever been a person in this town who has been as universally disliked than Dan Snyder?”
Buckhantz probably has more DC sports cred than most, even 30 years after he broke the story of Joe Gibbs retiring in March 1993, so he knows what things looked like before, during, and now after the Snyder reign of terror.
“The only thing I give him credit for is that he tried everything he could to make this team good, it just didn’t work,” Buckhantz said. “I don’t put full blame on him for the fact that the team hasn’t been competitive, but in terms of turning away fans, I don’t think there’s been anything like him in this town.”
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So, if the new owners called Buckhantz to ask what their top priority should be, what would he say?
"First, make sure that you hire people with a reputation of being skilled with player personnel, so you can get the right people in here," Buckhantz said. "Specifically, on the field they need offensive linemen there to protect the quarterback. People keep talking about changing the name - let's worry about getting them better on the field. Do I like the name? No, I think it's horrible that we couldn't come up with a better one, but you could call them the Lugnuts and people would eventually get used to it. If it's a thing that's a top priority for the fans who are paying to see the team, maybe it's something that needs to be looked into, but winning is the thing that will bring people back to the stadium."
Buckhantz also re-lived the story of him breaking the Gibbs retirement news and talked a little NBA playoffs as well, so give his whole 30 minute segment a listen above!
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