Tag: Seth Wickersham

Wickersham defends ESPN report on Commanders owner, Daniel Snyder

Seth Wickersham discussed ESPN’s report on Daniel Snyder.

John Keim spoke with ESPN investigative reporter Seth Wickersham concerning the explosive report last week regarding Commanders owner Daniel Snyder.

It’s a great listen, and here are a few excerpts as well from Wickersham.

JK: “How many were interviewed for the story?”

“It was around 30, and then we added some more on top of that (later). I’m not exactly sure, so it was between 30 and 40.”

“We are under no pressure to deliver a story by a certain time.”

“When that (stadium in Virginia) all fell apart, and he had no other options for a stadium, outside of paying for it himself somehow, that to me is when the flare lights went on.”

“I knew when the stadium became a non-option, I knew that his peers, the owners, who will ultimately decide a bunch of this with him, would be enraged and upset by it because it is going to cost them money.”

JK: What surprised you most in the reporting from your end?

SW: “How aware everybody was that Snyder told people that he had collected so much dirt, bragged about the dirt and seemed defiant in a moment where he seems weakened and how not surprised owners and others were that Snyder had bragged about employing a private investigator.”

“Maybe these are scare tactics or a bluff .. with Dan Snyder it was yes, we are all aware of that, and no, we are not shocked at all.”

“They (owners) are angry and what we reported in our story about him losing Jerry Jones and about how Jones has told Dan personally that he might not be able to protect him, that stuff is accurate.”

“I don’t know who is the most powerful owner. There was an executive joking that it was Dan Snyder who is the most powerful owner because the owners don’t want to do anything. Jerry is certainly one of the more influential ones, and he tends to get his way when he wants something.”

“If they were to call a vote on Tuesday, questioning Snyder’s ownership, if they didn’t get 24 voters, which is the requisite they would need, Dan would find out everyone who voted for him. So, they want to be as careful as they possibly can; however, it happens, whenever it happens.”

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Report: Patriots players considered boycotting after Bill Belichick’s letter to Trump

Some Patriots players were reportedly ready to boycott practice following Bill Belichick’s letter to Donald Trump.

Bill Belichick openly had a friendship with Donald Trump — leading to a letter from the head coach ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

Belichick said the letter was led by friendship and not politics.

“Our friendship goes back many years,” Belichick said in a statement. “Anybody who’s spent more than five minutes with me knows I’m not a political person. My comments are not politically motivated. I have a friendship and loyalty to Donald. A couple weeks ago, we had Secretary of State (John) Kerry in our locker room, another friend of mine. I can’t imagine two people with more different political views than those two. To me, friendship and loyalty, it’s just about that. It’s not about political or religious views. I write hundreds of letters and notes every month. It doesn’t mean I agree with every single thing that every person thinks about politics, religion and other subjects. I have wonderful friendships that are important to me. That’s what that was about.”

According to ESPN’s Seth Wickersham’s new book “It’s Better To Be Feared,” that letter caused some issues within the New England Patriots’ locker room. There were even players ready to boycott practice because of the “hypocrisy” from their coach.

Here’s an excerpt from the book regarding the frustration.

In 2016, after then-presidential candidate Donald Trump read a letter of support from Belichick at a campaign rally, Patriots assistant coach Brian Flores told Belichick that several players were angry and that he “needed to say something” to the team. Belichick addressed the team, but it didn’t help initially. Many players felt he was being disingenuous. “It was hypocritical and out of character. I don’t think he’s an intolerant coach. He isn’t a bad guy. Bill just f—ed up and justified it in a way that he would never accept from a player.” After the meeting, a small group of Patriots players considered boycotting practice but then reconsidered.

Belichick later declined the Presidential Medal of Freedom after the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. With this new context, it’s very possible his players were considered when making this decision.

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Seth Wickersham says Bill Belichick perused openings after Jimmy Garoppolo trade

Could there have been a world in which Bill Belichick departed the Patriots in 2018?

We’re heading into the 2021 season and Bill Belichick is still the head coach of the New England Patriots.

For most people, that isn’t a surprise. The legendary head coach has been with the team for two decades and has a relationship with Robert Kraft that allows him to run the team as he sees fit. Belichick is the general manager, head coach and the owner of six Super Bowl titles during that span.

For ESPN’s Seth Wickersham and those close to the situation, there was a little less certainty in Belichick’s longevity with the team. Wickersham wrote a bombshell column that deeply explored the power struggle between Belichick, Kraft and Tom Brady in 2018.

Jimmy Garoppolo was sent off during the trade deadline that year and the belief was that he’d be the successor to Brady. Reports heavily came out saying Kraft wanted Brady to play longer and Belichick was ready to get Garoppolo in the mix. At the end of the day, the story honed in on issues between Brady and Belichick.

Obviously, Brady left and Belichick still remains in his role. But, Wickersham recently discussed the story and discussed a scenario where things would’ve been much different.

“There was a lot of pushback to that story. But, I felt comfortable with what I was writing and what I was working on,” Wickersham said on The Harrison Vapnek Podcast . “At the time, I think there was a sense that Brady wasn’t going anywhere and Bill left the impression that he might be open to a move. There were some reports that came out at the time that the Giants were looking at him. I think he talked to the Washington Football Team and the Dolphins about sort of their openings. And it was unclear whether he was interested or not, but he was still talking to them and subsequent reporting has only sort of shown how in that offseason, Brady skipped the offseason program for the first time in his career and he had just kind of had enough.

“I think [Brady] wanted out of his contract at one point and maybe to be released, and at the end of the day both sides played a little hard ball. I don’t think Kraft was immediately inclined to let him out of his contract, although later he was like, ‘Well, if this is what you really want, we might be open to doing it.’ At that point I think Brady had come around and he was like, ‘Well, I might figure things out on my end.’ It was a fascinating offseason. Remember, he got up on stage in Los Angeles at that tech conference and he said, ‘I plead the fifth’ when asked if he felt appreciated. We never heard that language out of Tom Brady before. It was an interesting offseason to say the least.”

Brady was clearly ready to move on and made his move, leading to a Super Bowl win in his first year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Who knows how the league would’ve been altered if Belichick left the Patriots, but it likely would’ve created a dramatic shift.

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