Bears followers over time have had their gripes regarding the McCaskeys, the family that owns Chicago’s beloved, storied soccer franchise. Many followers on no account forgave George Halas’ grandson, Michael McCaskey, for firing Da Coach, Mike Ditka. There’ve been perennial complaints about McCaskey family stinginess, icy December Sundays at a dome-less Soldier Discipline, and hiring alternatives similar to the one which gave us former GM Ryan Tempo, the offender behind the Mitch Trubisky draft dud.
At the least, nonetheless, Bears followers can take solace on this. Their workforce isn’t owned by Dan Snyder.
Happily for soccer followers throughout the nation’s capital, the Washington Commanders will not belong to Snyder, who bought the workforce in 1999 and have turn out to be certainly one of many NFL’s most controversial owners. Snyder has agreed to advertise the workforce for a report $6 billion to a gaggle led by Josh Harris, an proprietor of the Philadelphia 76ers basketball franchise and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils.
Individuals have many causes to view the NFL with disdain. There’s the league’s reluctance to handle the ravages of energy traumatic encephalopathy, its prolonged historic previous of wanting the alternative methodology when players have abused ladies, and its indefensible treatment of Colin Kaepernick, mainly blacklisted merely for expressing himself by protest.
You may add Snyder to the itemizing.
The league tolerated Snyder for lots too prolonged. Throughout his tenure, the 58-year-old promoting and advertising and marketing magnate ran certainly one of many NFL’s oldest and most commemorated franchises into the underside, turning it proper right into a league laughingstock. Maybe the biggest stain on Snyder’s years as proprietor entails accusations from dozens of women that he, along with totally different excessive executives, sexually harassed female staff.
In 2021, the NFL ordered Snyder to avoid the workforce and fined the membership $10 million after its investigation concluded {{that a}} widespread custom of sexual harassment existed for higher than 10 years on the workforce, perpetuated by its executives. The league moreover determined that Snyder did nothing to intervene.
Later, a model new wave of allegations of sexual harassment of women by Snyder and workforce executives arose, prompting a second NFL investigation into the proprietor and his workforce. That probe is ongoing. Final November, federal prosecutors began a felony investigation into allegations of financial wrongdoing by the workforce.
Snyder moreover bought right here beneath hearth for his longtime refusal to drop the offensive nickname Redskins, thought-about a slur in direction of Native Individuals. He lastly relented in 2020 after workforce sponsors threatened to take their enterprise elsewhere.
On the sector, his workforce has been largely a disaster — merely six worthwhile seasons in extra than 20 years beneath Snyder’s stewardship. That helps make clear near rock-bottom attendance at Commanders’ FedEx Discipline all through the previous couple of seasons. Even his players are decrease than enamored with Snyder. Earlier this 12 months, a report by the players union, the NFL Gamers Affiliation, rated the Commanders as a result of the league’s worst workforce to play for.
Late closing 12 months, communicate surfaced of a possible switch by totally different NFL owners to strain Snyder out — a drastic nevertheless potential step that three-fourths of the league’s 32 owners can take. That’s when Snyder began fielding affords for a possible sale.
Compelled removals of owners in principal sports activities actions leagues must be regarded to solely as a closing resort, nevertheless the step must nonetheless be throughout the toolbox. There’s nothing fallacious with workforce owners being brash, bombastic or maybe a bit loopy (the Yankees’ George Steinbrenner includes ideas). However as soon as they impose a toxic workplace custom on staff or violate elementary norms of human decency, it’s correct to hold them accountable.
In 2014, the NBA banned Los Angeles Clippers proprietor Donald Sterling for all instances after he was recorded making racist remarks. Our solely criticism once more then was that NBA owners didn’t current him the door quite a bit sooner — Sterling had a protracted historic previous of setting up ugly, offensive statements.
In the end, sports activities actions is leisure. It’s a diversion from world conflicts, hand-wringing regarding the financial system and caustic American politics. However the grist ought to come back from the baseball diamond, the gridiron, the rink and the court docket docket — not from scandals and ignominy tied to players, coaches or owners.
It’s likely that Snyder’s departure could be greeted with glee from Commanders followers, who can flip their consideration away from entrance office turmoil and in direction of contending for a spot throughout the playoffs, and presumably even eventually a return to the Tremendous Bowl.
That’s what followers in Washington, Chicago or one other NFL metropolis want — and deserve. What they don’t need are toxic owners like Snyder.
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