Washington Football Team's Jason Wright becomes the NFL's first Black team president
Jason Wright has made NFL history.
The Washington Football Team on Monday announced it has hired Wright, a former running back, as its new team president, making him the first Black team president in the league ever, ABC News reports.
"The transformation of the Washington Football Team is happening across all aspects of the organization — from football to operations to branding to culture — and will make us a truly modern and aspirational franchise," Wright said in a statement. Owner Dan Snyder also said on Monday that "if I could custom design a leader for this important time in our history, it would be Jason."
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This move comes after the team dropped its Washington Redskins name following years of criticism, going by simply Washington Football Team for now, as well as after 15 former employees said that they experienced sexual harassment and verbal abuse on the job. Following that report, Snyder said he has hired an outside counsel "to conduct a thorough investigation."
Wright in an interview on GMA Monday promised that "it's a new day" for the team, saying it will not just be getting a new name but also a "new identity, a new way of engaging with the world." As far as the permanent new name goes, Wright said this will be a decision that "we make as a Washington football community."
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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