The Washington Football Team gives the NFL its first black president

The-Washington-Football-Team-gives-the-NFL-its-first-black-president

After almost 100 years to the day, the NFL finally has its first black team president. The Washington Football Team, previously known as the Washington Redskins, have tapped Jason Wright to head up its operations, hoping to usher in a new era of success for the team, as well as for NFL. It “only” took major civil unrest and an embarrassing sexual misconduct story to pave the way for change. 

The-Washington-Football-Team-gives-the-NFL-its-first-black-presidentThe 38-year-old Wright is a former NFL running back who played for several teams during his six years in the league. When he left the NFL, he returned to school, graduating with a Master of Business Administration degree in finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. From there, he would become a partner of McKinsey & Company, a business management consulting firm, before being asked to join the Washington team as its president. 

Wright said in a statement about his appointment, “This team, at this time, is an ideal opportunity for me. 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.”

The team’s new president replaces Bruce Allen, who led the organization for around ten years before being fired last December. Wright will handle the business side of the house, while Ron Rivera, hired as the team’s head coach last December, will handle the football operations. Rivera has been a supporter of diversity in the workplace, and hired Jennifer King as the NFL’s first female full-time coaching intern earlier this year. 

Some have asserted that Wright’s hiring was simply an attempt to mask the problems the Washington team, as well as the NFL, has been facing regarding diversity. However, for all his questionable choices over the years, team owner Dan Snyder is a businessman, and isn’t going to make a decision based on a whimsical, spur-of-the-moment idea. He and Rivera understand Wright’s potential as a business operator, and are ready to capitalize on his talents and skills.

For his part, Wright is ready to get to work. He’s quoted by Forbes as saying, “You can measure things like culture. It’s important for us to get those sorts of measurements so we can see how we’re improving over time. It doesn’t have to soft and squishy. It allows us to be more objective and fact-based in what we’re talking about, especially with something as touchy and important as how you’re being treated by colleagues. It’s important to have those facts.” He adds, “The ideal state is, at the end of this, whether it’s your preferred name or not, every fan of the club will be able to see their fingerprints somewhere on this process, and where it landed at the end of the day.”