WASHINGTON — It’s hard being a fan of the Washington Football team. Y'all know.
On Monday, though, the organization gave us something to take a little pride in by naming Jason Wright their new team president. It makes him the first Black person to hold this position in league history. That’s almost exactly 100 years.
A former player in the league, he’s spent the past several years in corporate America helping to rebuild companies that found themselves in trouble. He now joins team owner Dan Snyder and head coach Ron Rivera here, to help rebuild a company that found itself in trouble.
Now, while we can, and should, view his hiring as step forward to be celebrated, we must see it for what it also is: An indictment of the league’s history of inclusion.
The Fritz Pollard Alliance, a diversity group that works with the NFL on hiring, called the move a historic event and said they hope that it signifies a change in the way leadership is chosen in the NFL. We will see. This is a start, hopefully the next time we see a Black face in the president's office, it won't be the biggest cleanup job in the league.
He’s coming in at a tough time for the organization: Years of mediocre play; The Washington Post exposé detailing the reported sexual harassment and verbal abuses of employees; Minority partners wanting to sell their stakes in the team; A desire for a new stadium, and the team doesn’t even have a name yet.
Not to mention, there's no guarantee there is even going to be a season. But, he calls it an ideal situation, saying it’s a challenge that he wants to jump into, helping the team become a good citizen in the DMV area. It's about time.
At just 38, on paper Wright is the exact opposite of who typically gets this job, and isn’t that what inclusion is supposed to be about? Bringing in fresh, new voices and ideas? New blood, new energy?
Listening to the talkers circling around the league, they seem to think he’s an excellent hire. One exec called him the kind of guy who goes a long way toward healing wounds.
Let’s hope that’s the case, because hurt runs deep in the DMV. Let's also hope that for the sake of the team, and Wright’s new job, that Snyder has learned enough to stay out of the way. We got our first Black team president; we don’t want him to be the last.