Washington Football Team President Jason Wright admits there are differing opinions about the NFL franchise’s provisional name, but he told Jim VandeHei in an “Axios on HBO” interview that he “doesn’t think that’s strange”.
The big picture: The WFT changed its name in 2020, after years of complaints that the former was a racial slander. Wright was hired after the name change.
Regarding the name change, Wright says it came from a bubble that he considered the old name derogatory, but in moving to his new role, he “found that the debate of those closest to him was much more subtle than that.”
- Still, he told “Axios on HBO” that “the right thing is to move towards a new name, brand and identity that captures the best of our history and allows us to innovate and move forward into the future”.
- The previous thought was ‘Hey, we need to get something that can be a great substitute’, but there are also precedents for a team that bears the name of the place it is in. “
The big picture: Wright, 38, is the first president of the NFL black team. He told Axios on HBO that systemic racism – or racial prejudice, as he prefers to call it – exists everywhere, but it is “more obvious” in the NFL.
- “I think [systemic racism] it’s more obvious because 70% of men in the field are black, right? So, I think the optics are different, “said Wright.
- “I experienced racial prejudice … during high school, college and definitely in my professional career. “
- “When you have a moment of achievement, praise, nomination … the first question on people’s minds is: ‘Is that symbolism? Is this a public relations scam? Do they deserve this? ‘”
- “No matter what the history it was before … It’s something that every black professional experiences at some level. “
Wright played in the league from 2004 to 2010 as running back for the Falcons, Browns and Cardinals, acting as representative of the Cardinals union during the 2011 blockade before retiring.
- He won your MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business in 2013.
- He became a partner in Operations Practice at McKinsey & Company, where he specialized in diversity and organizational inclusion.
Between the lines: The WFT has long been involved in conflicts and lawsuits related to its previous name and several allegations of sexual harassment.
- In the interview, Wright said the organization and its team are committed to changing the culture.
The end result: Washington’s troubled past, combined with a worldwide racial recognition in which the NFL is more than just a small player, puts Wright in the spotlight as the team and the league work to change his image.