With the NFL’s owners gathering on Monday in Washington for quarterly meetings in the wake of President Barack Obama’s remarks regarding the name of the team that plays (close to) there, plenty now wonder whether the issue will be raised by league ownership, at a minimum behind closed doors.
Per a league source, that won’t be happening.
It’s highly unlikely that the topic will be raised in any formal league meetings. Instead, if the NFL decides that Redskins owner Daniel Snyder needs a nudge, he’ll get it in the form of a visit from Commissioner Roger Goodell and a handful of owners regarded as influential upon Snyder.
“If” remains the key word. There are no plans for such an effort, and some owners will be reluctant to do anything that would set a potential precedent regarding the twisting of arms to get teams to do what the league wants them to do.
Meanwhile, Peter King of TheMMQB.com reported during Football Night in America that Snyder remains steadfast in his position that the name will never change.
He may never change the team’s name, but he won’t own the team indefinitely. At some point, the team will be owned by someone who hasn’t painted himself (or herself) into a corner on the issue.
And it could be that the next owner will be approved only with a wink-nod understanding that the first order of business will be to change the name.