The news of the day in the NFL on Thursday centered around Washington D.C. At long last, Dan Snyder has reportedly sold the Washington Commanders. The Commanders were reportedly purchased by entrepreneur Josh Harris, who owns the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA and the New Jersey Devils of the NHL.
When Snyder bought the team in 1999, Washington was a crown jewel franchise. They won three Super Bowl titles – 1982, 1987, and 1991 – all with three different quarterbacks. Many of their best players – Darrell Green, Joe Jacoby, John Riggins, among a slew of others – went on to become Pro Football Hall of Famers. Snyder did absolutely nothing but tear all of that down in his tenure as Commanders owner.
ESPN’s Mina Kimes was cognizant of this and she delivered the boom to Snyder on his way out. On NFL Live, Kimes slammed Snyder for the track record he left behind him.
A quick thought on one of the most shameful ownership tenures in the history of professional sports coming to an end (and why this shouldn’t be over for the NFL). pic.twitter.com/h5l8UjUny8
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) April 13, 2023
“It is massive,” Kimes said of the sale. “We’re talking about the closing of a book that will go down as one of the most shameful records of any owner in any professional sport as you laid out there with that timeline, which only touches on some of it,” Kimes admitted.
She went in on what Dan Snyder oversaw: “A culture in Washington that was toxic and predatory. This was widely reported on and investigated. Who has been accused of directly facilitating that culture, who has been accused of sexual assault himself, by the way, as well as reportedly harassing and intimidating witnesses and reporters. An owner who is currently facing federal investigation for some of these charges, as well as the financial misbehavior. As well as a new, NEW, like another investigation from the NFL itself.”
Mina concluded her rant with a call to action to the NFL, a plea to persist in the investigation.
“Even if this sale does go through, and Daniel Snyder is no longer an NFL owner, I do think it’s imperative that the NFL finishes that investigation. And releases it. Because if they do care about transparency and the values they’ve been espousing as they continue this investigation? Releasing it becomes paramount.”
