Jim Irsay will not keep quiet.
Irsay spoke out on Tuesday about Commanders owner Daniel Snyder. And Irsay more recently doubled down in comments to Jay Glazer of Fox Sport, even as Commissioner Roger Goodell hopes that owners will wait until the current investigation has ended.
“I don’t not feel it’s in the best interests of the shield and the NFL,” Irsay told Glazer regarding Snyder’s ongoing ownership of the team. “This is not how we should be represented, and it’s regrettable that we have to be in this position.”
Is Irsay worried about any backlash?
“I’m gonna talk about it,” Irsay said. “I will not be muzzled, and I will stand by it.”
Irsay also believes that the owners have an obligation to the NFL’s customers to take action.
“We’re bound as owners to listen to the fans, and we cannot put our heads in the sand on this,” he said.
He thinks that the Mary Jo White investigation, whenever it concludes, will be the catalyst for a real conversation about Snyder’s future.
“I do believe that the concerns I have will merit a serious discussion among all the owners,” Irsay said. “I don’t want to see this swept under the rug again.”
That last comment may be the strongest. Irsay doesn’t want it to be swept under the rug again. It was swept under the rug when Beth Wilkinson completed her investigation.
It was swept under the rug by the league office, which didn’t ask for a written report from Wilkinson — presumably since the league knew Wilkinson would have recommended in writing that Snyder be forced to sell.