The story that just keeps on giving. ESPN reported today that Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder has hired private investigators to dig up dirt on other NFL owners, coaches, executives and Roger Goodell.
Full stop.
What a dick.
Moving on.
According to the ESPN article, Snyder told an associate that he has gathered enough dirt to “blow up” several NFL owners, the league office and Goodell. He also mentioned that the NFL is “a mafia” and that “all the owners hate each other.”
ESPN quoted a veteran owner who said, “That’s not true, all the owners hate Dan.”
Well, that would make sense now, wouldn’t it? This guy is alleged to have under reported ticket sales so he doesn’t have to put more money into the NFL pot so he can pocket it. And you’re telling me the other 31 owners don’t like him?
It’s not like other NFL owners don’t have their own demons. Robert Kraft got caught getting rub and tugs. Jim Irsay, allegedly, had a cocaine problem. The Ford’s have never led the Lions to the Super Bowl.
Damn it, sorry I told myself I wouldn’t go there.
Most of the owners likely have secrets they would like to keep in the closet. That’s not the point of this.
Snyder Rap Sheet
The point is that Dan Snyder has done so many different horrible things that we can no longer make excuses for him being a piece of shit person.
He’s had sexual harassment and discrimination claims brought against him by his co-workers. He cleared trees out of his backyard so he could get a better view of the Potomac River which he did without getting prior approval, breaking environmental laws.
He wouldn’t change the team’s nickname even though countless Native American groups came out and said it’s offensive. It got so bad that even white people were coming out saying they need to change the name.
You have the under reported ticket sales scandal which again just puts more money into Snyder’s pockets and less into his fellow owner’s wallets. He’s been dodging the United States Congress for months who want to talk to him about this.
He’s got Aids!
He’s adding so many terrible acts to his resume he’s making a run at Donald Sterling for worst human being to ever own a sports team. And that is really hard to do.
Sterling admitted he didn’t want his friends bringing African American’s to Los Angeles Clippers games when he owned the team. He didn’t want his girlfriend to post pictures on Instagram with African American’s because Sterling’s friends would call him.
He has this weird burning hatred for Magic Johnson yet would continuously tell us he respects him. But when the big lights were on for Uncle Donnie, his true colors came out.
It’s been six years now, but I still can’t believe to this day Donald Sterling got on CNN and with a straight face was like “wtf has Magic Johnson done? He’s got AIDS!”
It’s the most unbelievable sports sound of all-time to me. pic.twitter.com/zGvgVaRc9G
— Moneybagg Yo(hannes) 🇪🇷 (@AronYohannes) April 30, 2020
Dan Snyder might not be linked to racism. Unless you consider him not changing his team’s nickname after countless protests to do so because the team name was you know, racist.
But Snyder needs to be removed as owner in the NFL. The other 31 leaders have to find a way to make that happen sooner than later. After the ticket scandal came out it became no longer an issue of Snyder just making the league look bad. Now he’s, allegedly, stealing money from them. And you don’t become a billionaire without loving money.
Can NFL Remove Snyder?
But stripping a team from the owner is extremely difficult. You can’t just tell Snyder to take a hike. You also don’t want to set a precedent for it, as it could happen to you.
According to the ESPN article there is one option that could come into play.
Owners know that Snyder likely can’t build a stadium without significant financial help. Even if he were to sell ownership stakes in the team, essentially making a cash call on a team valued by Forbes to be the NFL’s sixth highest at $5.6 billion, Snyder would still likely fall short. There are league rules in place limiting how much debt owners can carry, but owners have approved debt limit waivers for new stadiums, often making up rules as they go.
A few owners and executives have discussed a rarely enacted option: refusing to let Snyder bypass league rules on how much debt an owner can hold, and possibly withholding the $200 million loan normally available to teams for new stadiums. They say their hope would be to force Snyder into either selling the team or, more likely, transferring ownership permanently to Tanya (his wife).
Even if the other owners can play this card effectively, Snyder isn’t going to go away quietly. We know this because he’s a terrible person. Why would he start to do the right thing now?