Bears followers over time have had their gripes in regards to the McCaskeys, the household that owns Chicago’s beloved, storied soccer franchise. Many followers by no means forgave George Halas’ grandson, Michael McCaskey, for firing Da Coach, Mike Ditka. There’ve been perennial complaints about McCaskey household stinginess, icy December Sundays at a dome-less Soldier Field, and hiring selections just like the one which gave us former GM Ryan Pace, the offender behind the Mitch Trubisky draft dud.
At least, nonetheless, Bears followers can take solace on this. Their workforce isn’t owned by Dan Snyder.
Fortunately for soccer followers within the nation’s capital, the Washington Commanders will now not belong to Snyder, who purchased the workforce in 1999 and have become one of many NFL’s most controversial homeowners. Snyder has agreed to promote 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.
Americans have many causes to view the NFL with disdain. There’s the league’s reluctance to take care of the ravages of power traumatic encephalopathy, its lengthy historical past of wanting the opposite method when gamers have abused girls, and its indefensible remedy of Colin Kaepernick, basically blacklisted merely for expressing himself by protest.
You can add Snyder to the listing.
The league tolerated Snyder for a lot too lengthy. During his tenure, the 58-year-old advertising and marketing magnate ran one of many NFL’s oldest and most commemorated franchises into the bottom, turning it right into a league laughingstock. Perhaps the largest stain on Snyder’s years as proprietor entails accusations from dozens of ladies that he, together with different high executives, sexually harassed feminine workers.
In 2021, the NFL ordered Snyder to steer clear of the workforce and fined the membership $10 million after its investigation concluded {that a} widespread tradition of sexual harassment existed for greater than 10 years on the workforce, perpetuated by its executives. The league additionally decided that Snyder did nothing to intervene.
Later, a brand new wave of allegations of sexual harassment of ladies by Snyder and workforce executives arose, prompting a second NFL investigation into the proprietor and his workforce. That probe is ongoing. Last November, federal prosecutors started a felony investigation into allegations of monetary wrongdoing by the workforce.
Snyder additionally got here beneath fireplace for his longtime refusal to drop the offensive nickname Redskins, thought-about a slur towards Native Americans. He lastly relented in 2020 after workforce sponsors threatened to take their enterprise elsewhere.
On the sector, his workforce has been largely a catastrophe — simply six profitable seasons in additional than 20 years beneath Snyder’s stewardship. That helps clarify close to rock-bottom attendance at Commanders’ FedEx Field throughout the previous few seasons. Even his gamers are lower than enamored with Snyder. Earlier this 12 months, a report by the gamers union, the NFL Players Association, rated the Commanders because the league’s worst workforce to play for.
Late final 12 months, speak surfaced of a potential transfer by different NFL homeowners to pressure Snyder out — a drastic however potential step that three-fourths of the league’s 32 homeowners can take. That’s when Snyder started fielding affords for a potential sale.
Forced removals of householders in main sports activities leagues needs to be regarded to solely as a final resort, however the step ought to nonetheless be within the toolbox. There’s nothing fallacious with workforce homeowners being brash, bombastic or perhaps a bit crazy (the Yankees’ George Steinbrenner involves thoughts). But once they impose a poisonous office tradition on workers or violate fundamental norms of human decency, it’s proper to carry them accountable.
In 2014, the NBA banned Los Angeles Clippers proprietor Donald Sterling for all times after he was recorded making racist remarks. Our solely criticism again then was that NBA homeowners didn’t present him the door a lot sooner — Sterling had a protracted historical past of constructing ugly, offensive statements.
Ultimately, sports activities is leisure. It’s a diversion from world conflicts, hand-wringing in regards to the economic system and caustic American politics. But the grist ought to come from the baseball diamond, the gridiron, the rink and the court docket — not from scandals and ignominy tied to gamers, coaches or homeowners.
It’s doubtless that Snyder’s departure might be greeted with glee from Commanders followers, who can flip their consideration away from entrance workplace turmoil and towards contending for a spot within the playoffs, and possibly even sooner or later a return to the Super Bowl.
That’s what followers in Washington, Chicago or another NFL metropolis need — and deserve. What they don’t want are poisonous homeowners like Snyder.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com