The owner of the Washington Commanders, Dan Snyder, might be making the day-to-day decisions about the football team, might be working inside the team’s facilities in Ashburn, and might be making those day-to-day decisions about the team from inside the building.
Or, he might not be! He might be doing one of those things or none of those things. One thing is certain: There is confusion surrounding the Washington Commanders once again.
The latest bout about who is the top commander in Washington comes from slightly contradictory statements from head coach Ron Rivera and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
See, in July 2021, the NFL announced Washington’s co-CEO Tanya Snyder “will assume responsibilities for all day-to-day team operations and represent the club at all league meetings and other league activities for at least the next several months” in response to the Beth Wilkinson investigation of sexual harassment and toxic workplace culture in Ashburn.
During the 2021 season, Snyder attended the team’s games, was at the name unveiling in February, and in October, Rivera said on The Team 980 he would speak with Snyder at the team's facility during the week.
“It’s always good to talk to Mr. Snyder,” Rivera told Kevin Sheehan, before saying he probably speaks to the owner “once or twice a week just depending on the situation, circumstances if we run into each other around the facility or at the game or at the stadium or something like that. Or I’ll call, he’ll call, you know, we’ll talk.”
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Well, Goodell told reporters Tuesday at the NFL Annual Meeting that Dan Snyder “has not been involved in day-to-day operations," Tanya Snyder will continue to represent the team at these functions, and that Dan Snyder hasn’t been at the team's facility.
“Don’t believe he’s been at the facility at all, and when we continue to have league matters, Tanya has represented the team as the CEO both on a day-to-day basis but also here with the league. She represented the club here, and that will continue for at least the foreseeable future. But Dan and I will talk about that at some point,” Goodell said Tuesday.
So, nine months after the league announced a $10 million fine and benched Dan Snyder, he remains not in charge according to the NFL commissioner.
In July 2021, the Washington Post reported Goodell must approve his return to day-to-day management of the team, which Snyder’s lawyer called false. But it seems on Tuesday that Goodell indicated any change in status would be preceded by a conversation with the commissioner. A conversation that seems to have not yet taken place.
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So, either Goodell is ok with Dan Snyder’s return to the team facility and possibly day-to-day decision making and misspoke. Or Dan Snyder is around the facility but not involved in day-to-day decisions. Or Snyder returned and is back in charge of the day-to-day decisions but the league’s commissioner is unaware of the changing of the guard in Commander land.
Evidently, there are lies, damned lies, statistics, and whatever is going on with Washington’s NFL team. Whatever name you feel most comfortable using, the same old storylines seem to apply and there’s the same throw your hands up in confusion.
So, which Snyder, specifically, is running the team?
Forget it, Jake. It's Ashburnistan.
Follow @BenKrimmel and @Team980 for the latest.
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