Category: Redskins

Report: Washington NFL team hires Julie Donaldson as exec, radio announcer

The Washington NFL team is adding a female voice to its radio booth.

The Washington NFL football has added NBC Sports Washington anchor and reporter Julie Donaldson to replace the organization’s longtime radio voice Larry Michael, it was reported Tuesday.

Per NBCSportsWashington:

Donaldson will lead the radio broadcast team, serve in other on-air roles and hold a senior-level position in the organization. She will be the first woman to be a regular member of an NFL team’s radio broadcast booth, according Westwood One.

Donaldson’s role will be similar in some ways to the one previously held by Larry Michael prior to his abrupt retirement last week on the eve of sexual harassment allegations in a Washington Post story, but it is expected to include new and different areas of oversight.

In a decade-long career with NBC Sports Washington, Donaldson was an anchor, reporter and host. She covered major sports stories and nearly every team in the Washington-Baltimore area.

The Washington Post is reporting Donaldson will be the team’s senior vice president of media and be in the broadcast booth during games but will not do play-by-play like Michael did.

A person with knowledge of the situation said Donaldson’s first task as head of media will be hiring a new play-by-play announcer to replace Michael, who retired last week a day before a Washington Post report published in which 15 former female team employees accused Michael and other high-ranking officials of sexual harassment.

https://twitter.com/lizclarketweet/status/1285581693680857096

Washington coach Ron Rivera has experience fixing a scandal-riddled organization

Ron Rivera worked through the scandal in Carolina and now has to do the same in Washington.

Talk about being in the wrong organization, not once but twice. That is how current Washington coach Ron Rivera has to feel.

In a text message to ESPN’s John Keim, first-year Washington coach Rivera said that the organization’s culture would change moving forward.

“Biggest thing is that we have to move forward from this and make sure everybody understands we have policies that we will follow and that we have an open door policy with no retribution,” Rivera said. “Plus my daughter works for the team and I sure as hell am not going to allow any of this!”

Rivera was coach of the Carolina Panthers when the scandal broke and original owner Jerry Richardson had to sell the team.

On December 17, 2017, Sports Illustrated reported that “at least four former Panthers employees have received ‘significant’ monetary settlements due to inappropriate workplace comments and conduct by owner Jerry Richardson, including sexually suggestive language and behavior, and on at least one occasion directing a racial slur at an African-American Panthers scout.” According to the anonymous sources which were the basis for the article, Richardson asked women in the team offices to “turn around so he could admire their backsides” on Casual Friday, among other “disturbing” office behavior.

Less than three years later, Rivera finds himself head coach of another team caught up in a massive scandal.

Former Washington Redskins employee Emily Applegate, and 14 other female employees who spoke on terms of anonymity, have alleged that the franchise has long worked under a toxic spell of serial sexual harassment and verbal abuse. More than one female sports reporter has added their names to that list.

Rivera was part of the process that righted the organization in Carolina. He seems to be an excellent person to be part of trying to rebuild what has become a disgraced Washington NFL franchise.

This comes days after the team announced it would find a new nickname despite controversial owner Daniel Snyder calling the current one a “badge of honor,” and saying he would “NEVER” change it. When companies threatened to pull millions out of their relationship with the team and Washington merchandise no longer being sold by massive businesses, that tune quickly changed.

 

Washington NFL team’s statement officially retiring team nickname

The team nickname associated with racism and controversy has been retired by Washington’s NFL team.

After the reports Sunday it would happen, the Washington NFL team released a statement Monday officially announcing the team’s nickname for decades has been retired:

There was no announcement of a new moniker. Reports have indicated an issue with the preferred Trademark is ongoing.

The team said:

Dan Snyder and Coach Rivera are working closely to develop a new name and design approach that will enhance the standing of our proud, tradition rich franchise and inspire our sponsors, fans and community for the next 100 years.

It will be interesting to see how fast the team scrubs the nickname from its accounts and business. The tweet still has the team’s nickname and logo that has been the source of controversy and has been considered racist and offensive for many years.

Washington NFL team’s next hurdle: Trademark squatter

A 61-year-old from Virginia could be a huge hurdle as Washington looks to Trademark its next nickname.

The decision to change the nickname of Washington’s NFL team will be announced Monday. There is a hiccup in the announcement of the next monker, though. Dan Snyder could be facing the challenge to toppling a trademark squatter.

Martin McCaulay says he has a crystal ball.

“I can really see into the future on this issue,” McCaulay, who is now a 61-year-old actuary living in Alexandria, VA, told FOX5 in 2015. “Now when I look into the future, I see no change for 10 years, and then in 10 years, I see the name changing to the Washington Warriors. And if not the Warriors, then the Americans.”

Five years ago he had registered for trademark protection on the following Washington-based names: Americans, Bravehearts, Federals, Forces, Founders, Gladiators, Monuments, Natives, Pandas, Pigskins, Red-Tailed Hawks, Renegades, Sharks, Veterans, and Tribe. McCaulay told FOX5 that he had spent $20,000 to secure the various trademarks.

“A squatter reserves a name with no intention to use it,” McCaulay told Richmond.com. “I went to the extreme of buying a lot of merchandise, making it my brand, and selling it.”

He has a website, WashingtonAmericansFootball.com, where people can order merchandise for several of his teams — the Washington Founders, Monuments, Pandas, Veterans, Warriors and Red-Tailed Hawks.

He’s been busy since the team announced it was going to conduct a
“thorough review” of its nickname July 3.

McCaulay has started to file for more Washington based team names.McCaulay has recently filed applications for the following trademarks: Washington Redtails (July 7 and July 5), Washington Monuments (July 6), Washington Veterans (July 6), Washington Renegades (July 6), Washington Red-Tailed Hawks (July 4), and Washington Americans (June 18).

The Washington Warriors name seemed to either slip through Snyder’s mind or hands.

Per the Washington Times:

Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder, through a holding company, abandoned his pursuit of obtaining a trademark for the term “Warriors” in 2019 and ultimately lost the chance for registering the mark earlier this year — a move that could complicate the team’s potential rebrand as officials conduct a review of its name.

Snyder had an opportunity to trademark “Warriors” last year, after the reopening of a 2007 case in which he filed to own the moniker. But did not respond to the trademark office, answer an opposition claim or file an appeal when the judgment was issued against his holding company, Washington Football Inc.

McCaulay told Richmond.com he sent a letter to the NFL last week offering his trademarks for free if it sped up the process of renaming.

“I don’t want to be the one who is an obstacle,” he said, noting that he’s become aware of how the Redskins name could be offensive to members of the Native American community.

However, he said he failed to receive a response and that offer is now off the table.

 

Reports: Washington D.C. team’s minority owners looking to sell

Reports indicated minority owners who have as much as a 40% stake in Washington’s NFL are looking to sell.

Minority owners of the Washington D.C. NFL team want out of their business relationship with Dan Snyder, Pro Football Talk, and the Washington Post reported Sunday.

Per the Post, three minority partners want out “in large part because they are ‘not happy being a partner’” with Snyder.

The Post says that the trio, who purchased their equity in 2003, owns roughly 40% of the team. Past reports have suggested that (Dwight) Schar and (Robert) Rothman own 15% each, and that (Fred) Smith has 5%.

Per the Post, the owners have hired an investment banking firm to conduct the search for buyers. It’s our understanding that, as to Smith and Schar, efforts to find a buyer have been ongoing but unsuccessful.

Earlier, PFT reported Smith, whose FedEx company has naming rights to the Stadium the team plays in and wants the nickname changed, is unhappy with Snyder.

Per PFT:

Thursday’s statement from FedEx, the company founded by Washington minority partner Fred Smith, opposing the name of the team stunned many around the league. However, the public assault on a name that Washington owner Daniel Snyder had said would never change wasn’t the result of an epiphany for Smith. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Smith had been trying to get Snyder to change the name for “years.”

Smith’s dissatisfaction with the name and other issues already had brought Smith to a point where he, along with fellow minority owner Dwight Schar, had actively been trying to sell their pieces of the team. However, both have to date been unable to find a buyer.

The fact the minority owners can’t find a suitable buyer could turn the tables on Snyder. What if someone or someones are willing to take the major stake in Washington’s team from the controversial and stubborn Snyder. Would he consider selling?

Or would he remain stubborn and obstinate as he has through the years when the issue of changing the team’s nickname has been raised?

The Post added:

 

Report: Coach Ron Rivera says Washington D.C. NFL brass working on new nicknames

Coach Ron Rivera said he is working with Washington D.C.’s NFL team owner on a new nickname for the team.

It’s amazing how fast money talks when it’s about to walk out of someone’s bank account. Washington coach Ron Rivera said he is working with team owner Dan Snyder on new names for the NFL team in the nation’s capital.

As Nike has removed Washington merchandise from its site and investors have asked other corporations to pull sponsorships, the coach is discussing a name change with the owner, who previously has said he would “never” switch the name many believe has racist connotations. Snyder considers it a “badge of honor.”

“We came up with a couple of names — two of them I really like,” Rivera told the Washington Post  Saturday.  “If we get it done in time for the season, it would be awesome,” The team’s new coach did not reveal the names he prefers.

Rivera told the newspaper it is important that a new nickname respects Native American culture and traditions, while also saluting the military.

“We want to do this in a positive way,” said Rivera, who is of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent and is the only Hispanic head coach currently in the NFL. He is the son of an Army officer.

The comments come a day after the team announced it would undergo a thorough review of its current nickname. A day earlier, FedEx, which owns the naming rights to the team’s stadium in Landover, Md.

 

Report: FedEx requests Washington football team change its nickname

FedEx has asked Dan Snyder to change the nickname of the Washington football team.

The pressure is ramping up on Washington team owner Dan Snyder to change the nickname of his football team. Snyder hasn’t shown any indication he will budge, — calling the nickname a “badge of honor” — but there now are a lot of dollars that could evaporate from his business model.

And now, the team sponsor of the stadium the Washington team plays in wants the nickname to change, too:

A FedEx spokesperson releasing this statement, per WJLA :

We have communicated to the team in Washington our request that they change the team name.

FedEx holds the naming rights to the home stadium, a deal that pays Washington around $8 million per year and runs through 2025, according to reports. FedEx President and CEO Frederick Smith owns a minority stake in the Redskins.

This comes on the heels of major companies looking to pull their dollars and association with the team. The team name is widely held to be a racist slur against Native Americans.

NFL Insider Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire reported:

Per Adweek’s Mary Emily O’Hara, 87 different shareholders and investment firms, whose financial involvement totals more than $620 billion in assets, have asked Nike, FedEx and PepsiCo to end their business relationships with the Washington Redskins due to the racist nature of the team’s nickname.

While team owner Dan Snyder has said that he will never change the team’s name, citing franchise tradition, he has been pressured for years by different groups to do so. Now, the pressure is financial in a way it hasn’t been before.

Letters from the investors to the three major brands include representation from First Peoples Worldwide, Oneida Nation Trust Enrollment Committee, Trillium Asset Management, LLC Boston Common Asset Management, LLC Boston Trust Walden Mercy Investment Services and First Affirmative Financial Network. About 80 other firms and trusts have added their names.

Snyder hopes to build a new stadium on the site of RFK Stadium, where the team used to play. Those plans received a jolt, per the Washington Post:

There is no scenario in which Daniel Snyder will be able to build a new Washington Redskins stadium on the federally owned RFK Stadium site unless he changes the team’s name.

That was the unequivocal message from Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), the District’s nonvoting delegate to the House of Representatives; D.C. Deputy Mayor John Falcicchio; and U.S. Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, in separate telephone interviews with The Washington Post on Wednesday.

“I call on Dan Snyder once again to face that reality, since he does still desperately want to be in the nation’s capital,” Norton said. “He has got a problem he can’t get around — and he particularly can’t get around it today, after the George Floyd killing.”

 

 

 

Former Cardinals head coach Joe Bugel dies at 80

Joe Bugel, who coached the Cardinals and built the Hogs in Washington, has died at 80.

Joe Bugel, who built the legend of the “Hogs” in Washington and went on to coach the Phoenix Cardinals, died Sunday at the age of 80.

“I am absolutely devastated by the news of Joe’s passing,” Washington owner Dan Snyder said in the statement. “ … He was a man who not only gave me a better understanding of the game of football, but who also gave me perspective on what is truly important in life. I absolutely adored him and will miss him terribly. Tanya and I would like to extend our deepest condolences to Brenda and the entire Bugel family during this time.”

Bugel was Washington’s offensive coordinator and offensive line coach from 1981-82 and the assistant head coach from 1983-89.

He went on to become the head coach of the Phoenix Cardinals from 1990-93. Bugel spent time on the coaching staff of the Raiders — head coach in 1997 — and Chargers before returning to Washington as assistant head coach-offense from 2004 to 2009. Overall, Bugel was 24-56 as a head coach.

He retired from the NFL at the end of the 2009–2010 season on Jan. 13, 2010. He was a two-time Super Bowl champion (XVII, XXII).

Bugel finished having coached for 32 NFL seasons. Bugel was the architect of the dominating “Hogs” offensive line that included stalwarts Russ Grimm, Joe Jacoby, Mark May, Jeff Bostic, and George Starke.

“I am absolutely devastated by the news of Joe’s passing,” owner Dan Snyder said in the statement. “ … He was a man who not only gave me a better understanding of the game of football, but who also gave me perspective on what is truly important in life. I absolutely adored him and will miss him terribly. Tanya and I would like to extend our deepest condolences to Brenda and the entire Bugel family during this time.”

Former Washington coach Joe Gibbs paid tribute to one of his top assistants.

“Joe had an incredible passion for the game of football. He came to work every day with such great excitement and his players had tremendous respect for him,” Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs said. “The strength of our coaching staff on both sides of the ball was a key reason we had so much success. Bugel was such a big part of that and his impact was felt not only by those Redskins’ teams, but truly across the entire League. I will miss his friendship and I will always cherish our late-night arguments putting together the game plan each week.”

 

Predicting win-loss records for all 32 NFL teams in 2020

Predicting win-loss records for all 32 NFL teams in 2020

 

Predicting win-loss records for all 32 NFL teams in 2020

Free agency has had its run. The NFL Draft is over. A first take on how teams will finish the upcoming season.

The NFL Draft is over and most free-agent moves have taken place. What does the 2020 season look like at an early glance for all 32 teams?

Arizona Cardinals: 7-9

Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

There were growing pains in Year One for Kyler Murray and Kliff Kingsbury. They will continue in Year Two with more progress. Being in the NFC West doesn’t make improvement easy.

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