Washington Football President Makes History, Faces a Culture Crisis
Washington Football Chief Makes History, Faces a Culture Crisis
(Bloomberg) -- Jason Wright has a tough road ahead of him.
The former National Football League running back and McKinsey partner was hired this month as the first Black team president in league history.
He jumps into the position at a time when the Washington Football organization is trying to decide on a new team name. The team announced in July it would drop the “Redskins” name, and its logo featuring a Native American head, as sponsors, notably FedEx Corp., pressured team owner Daniel Snyder to reverse his resistance to a name change.
It also faces sexual harassment claims from more than a dozen former employees, and is navigating the national controversy surrounding police shootings and racial inequality. This week, that included having a team meeting to discuss racial injustice, in place of practice.
Wright, 38, discussed his new role and the challenges he faces on Bloomberg’s Business of Sports podcast.
“The first thing you have to do is, you got to get the fact base,” said Wright. “The Washington Post article is one input, but it also requires investigation to understand what’s real and what’s not.”
He was referring to a Washington Post exposé that alleged the team shot lewd videos of its cheerleaders during a swimsuit calendar photography session.
There’s also ongoing claims of sexual harassment and a toxic work environment by former employees. The NFL is considering fining or taking other measures against the team over the accusations, and some don’t rule out pressure on Snyder, owner since 1999, to sell the franchise.
“There’s most certainly stuff that’s real and there is most certainly stuff that’s not, or not in the same way,” Wright said.
Drawing on his experience at management consultants McKinsey and Co., Wright talked about how he plans to do a quantitative accounting of the team’s culture.
The trick will be to apply “the methodology that I’m familiar with from before” to assess where the team has “open and collaborative culture, and where do we not have it,” Wright said. “There will be areas where we’re lagging on culture and the experience was poor and engagement was low, and likely productivity was low as a result.”
For his part, Wright, a Northwestern graduate who got an MBA at the University of Chicago after his NFL playing days, understands the challenge he’s signed up for.
“I knew that there would be bumps in the road, because I knew that there was likely more stuff coming. It hit sooner than I thought and with greater intensity than I thought,” Wright said.
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