Someone Must Tell Daniel Snyder “No”

It is that simple. Nancy Reagan had it right all along. No, this isn’t about drugs. This is the NFL equivalent of a dumpster fire that has been burning for 18 years. This blaze keeps fans of Washington warm and illuminates Landover, Maryland. It’s Daniel Snyder who is attempting to buy out some aggrieved minority owners. It is time for the NFL to demand more — demand better. It is beyond time for the owners to just say no.

Poor Professional Decision-Making

For 18 years fans of the Washington team have watched new and innovative ways to brew dysfunction and failure. Snyder has shown little ability to learn from his disastrous personnel decisions. Let me remind you of Albert Haynesworth. An All-Pro talent in a 4-3 defense, asked to become a nose tackle who never lived up to a fraction of his contractual price.

Let us not forget the early glimpses of this inverse Midas Touch — the franchise sent Brad Johnson to free agency in favor of Jeff George. Johnson went on to win a Super Bowl for Tampa Bay. George failed to finish a season. The only consistency in this organization is poor decisions. Where poor football decisions should warrant this action, the truth is that there are no rules against being a bad owner, making bad operational decisions, and making poor coaching decisions.,

Poorer Personnel Deicsions

The reasons to push Daniel Snyder from the NFL go beyond ineptitude in running a franchise. Poor decisions have resulted in serious allegations reported by multiple sources involving inappropriate requests of the team cheerleaders. Perhaps there was a deviant era years ago when this behavior was acceptable in a sports franchise. Those days are gone. In fact, it is unacceptable for any owner of an NFL team to be in a position where these allegations could be possible. For even the most supportive fans, the frequency of poor decisions by Snyder is daunting. It’s not like there is an abundance of intelligent and reasonable choices that would cast a doubt in the minds of fans of football.

For nearly two decades, this owner has damaged the Washington Football franchise. He has discredited this professional franchise. Gruenter and Whitaker have a famous quote about culture: “The culture of any organization is shaped by the worst behavior the leader is willing to tolerate.”

If the peer owners of the other NFL franchises continue to sit silently on this subject, they have set a standard for behavior conduct. Their inaction is a silent endorsement of an individual who has exhibited world-class talent in poor decisions.

Can Talent Offset Major Flaws?

There have been numerous examples of top-shelf talent struggling to find positions on a team. Players like Terrell Owens or recently Antonio Brown have struggled with their reputations for distraction and poor decisions. If a team sport can see beyond obvious world-class talent to set behavioral standards for athletes, why is it so hard for owners to do the same? What is the limit for acceptable behavior for an owner?

Time for Change

The actions of Daniel Snyder to buy out his minority owners seems to be an act of desperation. There appear to be accusations of financial irregularities and improper conduct. For an individual who has struggled in virtually every other aspect of ownership, this is not hard to imagine as a possibility. Snyder is attempting to silence the dissension and courageous voices that challenge him to do better.

Unfortunately, we do not see the same level of commitment from fellow owners and league brass.