The Washington Redskins' three minority owners are reportedly “not happy being a partner” of ... [+]
The Washington football team’s three minority owners, who own about 40% of the team, are looking to sell their stakes, according to a report in the Washington Post on Sunday night that cited multiple unnamed sources aware of the deliberations.
The owners—Robert Rothman, Dwight Schar and Frederick W. Smith—bought their shares back in 2003. Rothman is a chairman and CEO of the investment company Black Diamond Capital. Schar is a chairman of NVR Inc., the country’s fifth-largest home builder and Smith is a chairman, president, and CEO of FedEx. Pro Football Talk first reported on Sunday afternoon that Schar and Smith were trying to sell their interests in the team.
According to the Post, the owners hired an investment firm to begin the search for potential buyers in part because they are “not happy being a partner” of majority owner Dan Snyder. According to ESPN’s John Keim, one person familiar with the situation felt this news had to come as a surprise to Snyder because he considered them all friends.
The news of the minority owners comes just days after Washington announced that the organization will undergo a “thorough review” of the team’s name “in light of recent events around our country and feedback from our community.” The review follows discussions that the team has been having with the league in recent weeks. In response to the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, the nickname has received renewed criticism for being a racial slur with a controversial heritage.
“This process allows the team to take into account not only the proud tradition and history of the franchise but also input from our alumni, the organization, sponsors, the National Football League and the local community it is proud to represent on and off the field,” Snyder said in the statement.
In the past, Snyder has been steadfast in his desire to keep the name the same. He told USA Today Sports in 2013, “We’ll never change the name. It’s that simple. NEVER - you can use the caps.”
In response to protests nationwide, the Redskins nickname has received criticism for being a racial ... [+]
The team’s announcement followed news that FedEx became the first major corporate backer of the organization to call on the team to change its name in a statement released on Thursday that read, “We have communicated to the team in Washington our request that they change the name.”
In the next 24 hours, Nike, PepsiCo, and Bank of America all expressed their belief that the name should be changed. Nike has since removed all the team’s gear from its online store.
If the three minority owners do sell, they would make up the second set of business partners Snyder has had in his 21 years as Washington owner.
According to Forbes’ most recent valuations of NFL teams published in September 2019, Washington is the seventh-most-valuable franchise in the league, worth $3.4 billion. A 10 to 15 percent stake in the team would be worth about $340 million and $510 million.
Quarterback Dwayne Haskins Jr. took to Twitter to express his support of the name change, tweeting “I like the redtails.”
The nickname Red Tails has received buzz on social media as a popular potential name change. The nickname would honor the Tuskegee Airman, who were a group of African-American and Caribbean-born fighter pilots in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. The Tuskegee Airman, also known as the Red Tails, were the first African-American military pilots in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Washington head coach Ron Rivera, who is the son of a chief warrant in the U.S. Army and grew up on five military bases in three countries, specifically mentioned the military in his statement about the name change.
“This issue is of personal importance to me and I look forward to working closely with Dan Snyder to make sure we continue the mission of honoring and supporting Native Americans and our Military,” Rivera said.
