Month: February 2022

The Washington Football Team has revealed its new name: the Washington Commanders.

Washington owner Dan Snyder said in a statement: “As an organization, we are excited to rally and rise together as one under our new identity while paying homage to our local roots and what it means to represent the nation’s capital. As we kick off our 90th season, it is important for our organization and fans to pay tribute to our past traditions, history, legacy and the greats that came before us. We continue to honor and represent the Burgundy and Gold while forging a pathway to a new era in Washington.”

Head coach Ron Rivera said he thought of leadership when he heard the new name: “In today’s world, we seem to have a lack of true leadership, and we need people to step forward and lead this country and really help to take us in the right direction. I think it’s greater than just the name of a football team as much as it’s really just something that we have to look and say, you know, it’s an opportunity for us to take charge, take command and go forward.”

The team officially made the announcement on the Today show, and tweeted it on the new Washington Commanders page, with the caption: “One legacy. One unified future. We are the Washington Commanders #TakeCommand”  The new name comes 18 months after the franchise dropped its old name under pressure from sponsors, following years criticism that it was offensive to Native Americans. The organization committed to avoiding Native American imagery in its rebrand, after being called the Washington Football Team the past two seasons.

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As part of the proposed class-action lawsuit Brian Flores filed against the NFL, one allegation noted was that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered Flores $100,000 to intentionally lose games to improve draft positioning. Now former Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson is implying that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam did the same. The 56-year-old Jackson has been out of the NFL since the middle of the 2018 season when the Browns dismissed him; he is currently the head coach of Grambling State University.

Jackson went on Twitter to express support for Flores, and responding to a tweet that said Haslam wasn’t offering Jackson $100,000 per loss, Jackson replied: “Trust me it was a good number!” Jackson went 3-36-1 in two-and-a-half seasons with the Browns,  going 1-15 in his first season and 0-16 in his second. The Browns ended up with consecutive No. 1 draft picks in the 2017 and 2018 NFL drafts, taking defensive end Myles Garrett and quarterback Baker Mayfield, respectively, with those selections.

In another thread on Twitter, Kimberly Diemert — listed as the executive director of the Hue Jackson Foundation — posted a tweet that said she had records that would help Flores’ case. Diemert claimed that the Browns paid bonus money to Jackson and front office executives Sashi Brown, Paul DePodesta and Andrew Berry to lose, claiming NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the league knew about it and covered it up.

In a statement on Wednesday afternoon, a Browns spokesperson denied the allegations: “The recent comments by Hue Jackson and his representatives relating to his tenure as our head coach are completely fabricated. Any accusation that any member of our organization was incentivized to deliberately lose games is categorically false.”

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Days after reports first broke that veteran quarterback Tom Brady was retiring, Brady himself confirmed the news in a lengthy statement on social media.

Alongside a photo of himself playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the 43-year-old Brady wrote: “This is difficult for me to write, but here it goes: I am not going to make that competitive commitment anymore. I have loved my NFL career, and now it is time to focus my time and energy on other things that require my attention.”   Later in his statement, he thanked his teammates, coaches, and loved ones, saying: “My playing career has been such a thrilling ride, and far beyond my imagination, and full of ups and downs. … I will remember and cherish these memories and re-visit them often. I feel like the luckiest person in the world.  The future is exciting.”

Brady was drafted by the New England Patriots in 2000 and spent the first 20 seasons of his career with the team, winning six Super Bowls. His final two seasons in the NFL were played with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who Brady led to his seventh Super Bowl victory in 2021.

Brady finishes his career a five-time Super Bowl MVP, and three-time league MVP. He’s also the oldest player to be named Super Bowl MVP and win a Super Bowl as the starting quarterback, which he achieved at age 43.

Editorial credit: Steve Jacobson / Shutterstock.com

The Players Association and Major League Baseball’s bargaining representatives held another face-to-face meeting on Tuesday in an effort to bring an end to the ongoing owner lockout. The meeting, taking place at MLB headquarters in New York City for roughly 90 minutes, marked the second time in the last eight days that the two sides have discussed the “core economic issues” facing baseball.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that there was “little progress” made, saying: “The meeting between the Major League Baseball Players Association and MLB is over. Little progress was made. The on-time opening of spring training at this point is in grave danger and, frankly, would take a miraculous deal coming together to rescue. A delay feels inevitable.”

In a meeting last week, the two sides discussed the parameters of a bonus pool for players with 0-3 years of service time as a way to address the union’s concern for getting younger players paid sooner. The two sides remain far apart on key economic issues such as the luxury tax and minimum player salaries.

Teams are scheduled to report to spring training in two weeks; however barring any last-minute resolutions, the chance of starting spring training on time looks remote.

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