The Washington Football Team has seen a bunch of criticism during owner Dan Snyder's tenure. Reports of a toxic work atmosphere have come to light around this time where certain situations have made the organization look shallow and downright self-destructive. Many had a laugh when a reporter asked then-President Bruce Allen about the culture of the franchise and he responded how it's damn good. At least they changed the name of the team. So with that, this organization needed an event to lead to a happier road.
It seems as if that road will be closed for a while.
Upon seeing the e-mails that Jon Gruden sent to Allen, citing racial remarks about DeMaurice Smith, criticizing Jeff Fisher for drafting a gay player and much more damning rhetoric by Chuckie. Allen also had an interesting e-mail from noted NFL insider Adam Schefter. So as you can see, the Football Team has controversy staring them in the face. Even if it was from a decade ago. The organization needed to save face and decided on doing something positive for once. On a Thursday, the WFT chose to retire Sean Taylor's #21 on that Sunday against the Chiefs......three days later.
If you are a TV fan, you know the show Saved By The Bell. There is an episode where the gang forgets Screech's birthday and get the idea to throw him a party inside Mr. Belding's office. The problem is that they have to throw it within a certain amount of time before Belding comes back to his office. They rush the hell out of everything, even telling Screech what they bought him for a present. This right here is what the WFT was doing trying to plan Sean Taylor's jersey retirement. If you read the comments from team president Jason Wright, the man is the scapegoat of a debacle, stating that this plan was thought of months ago. Funny how it happens the same week that controversy bestows the franchise, right? Wright also stated that "saving the news for a game week reveal was the best way to focus the message on Sean and his legacy." Yeah, let's forget the fact that Dan Snyder once sent the team's cheerleaders to Costa Rica to be "escorts" and focus on retiring a number that should have been retired a long time ago. He said....and here's the one comment that I had to read over, because I couldn't believe he actually said or thought is. He said that the team didn't realize so many fans would want to travel to FedEx Field for the ceremony. For a franchise that thinks their fans are fodder and at times, an inconvenience when the owner overcharges for parking, tickets and even water during team practices, it shouldn't surprise me of that type of thinking.
The organization also named a street in his honor. You figure, hey, this is a nice gesture. However, the now named Sean Taylor Road has a row of porta-potties there. If you had months of planning this, shouldn't those porta-potties be non-existent? And how about the picture of Taylor's family and friends in front of the porta-potties on Sean Taylor Road? This is one of the most awkward looking photo a major sports organization has put out in public. Half of the people were not even looking at the camera, in fact, one person has their head completely turned around when the photo was taken. The WTF saw this and thought "Nah, this is a good picture. Let's roll with this." Dan Snyder also attended and had a photo op with the family......looking like a man who returned from a two-day bender in Cancun. He was unshaven, wearing a hoodie and khakis. I realize that it's cool to be casual once in a while if you own an NFL franchise, but if this is a "supposed" important event, have some dignity and clean yourself up. Oh, and by the way, a lot of people want to point the finger at Snyder for this, since it has become everyone's favorite pastime to blame Snyder for everything wrong with this franchise. Well, technically you can't blame him. Remember, Snyder relinquished his role of day-to-day operations with the team after the NFL levied a $10 million fine on WFT before the season. The actual ceremony was rushed. No one had a speech or made any tribute for Taylor. Then, there was the VIP section with Taylor's #21 painted on the grass, where people could just stand on the number. The placement was also near the sideline, which seems more or less like this wasn't in their "plans". The cherry on this Rush-a-Rama sundae came when one person in that VIP section decided to make a fool of themselves. That person would be Patrick Mahomes' little brother, Jackson. Jackson thought it would be a great idea to dance on top of the number and shoot a TikTok video in the process, thus showing a lack of respect and pissing off a majority of people. He would apologize for this.
Sean Taylor was on his way to becoming one of the greatest safeties to ever play in the NFL. His life ending at 24 had many in tears since the man was an inspiration to everyone associated with him. His legacy is going to last forever.
The Washington Football Team decided to rush his moment of immorality within three days time. It kind of tells you what type of franchise WFT is. ONE GIANT PORTA-POTTY.
(Sources: Yahoo Sports, Secret Base, The Athletic, Wikipedia)
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