WASHINGTON — Magic Johnson is assuring players that they won't have to worry about the Washington Commanders' new owners making headlines, alluding to previous owner Dan Snyder.
Johnson purchased the team as part of Josh Harris's ownership group in July.
At an event held for the Boys and Girls Club of Washington, D.C., he spoke to reporters about a recent meeting with the team where he emphasized that the new owners have no intention of being in the spotlight.
"I said, you don't have to worry about no problems from this ownership group," Johnson said before taking a long pause and adding that players will only be expected to concentrate on one thing: playing football.
"You ain't gonna read no headlines, you're not gonna have to worry about nothing no questions from [reporters] about stuff off the field," Johnson said. "[The players] job is just to concentrate on doing your job and having every Sunday, every Thursday or every Monday."
The comments come after the Harris Ownership Group purchased the Washington Commanders from previous owner Dan Snyder.
Snyder has a long history of being in headlines, starting in 2020 after the Washington Post reported that 15 female former employees said they were sexually harassed during their time with the team.
The House Oversight Committee announced on Jan. 27, 2022, it would hold a roundtable discussion the following week with former employees to discuss workplace misconduct and sexual harassment. The league hired former U.S. Attorney and Securities and Exchange Commission chair Mary Jo White to investigate.
In July, NFL owners unanimously approved the sale and the league fined Snyder $60 million for sexually harassing an employee and withholding revenue from other teams. The punishment came as a result of White's investigation, which was also publicly released. The report concluded Snyder sexually harassed Tiffani Johnston, allegations Johnston first made last year in front of a House committee.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report)