The Washington Post - 01.08.2019

THURSDAY, AUGUST 1 , 2019. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ M2 D7

“It was a symbol things weren’t

going to change,” one former

employee said of Lafemina’s fir-

ing. “It seemed to me it went

backwards. It went back to where

they were.”

Many of the former employees

said they had been excited to

work for an NFL team and en-

joyed their colleagues, but they

complained of low pay, a feeling

that no one at the top of the

organization cared about their

work and a sense the franchise

was not moving forward after

Allen was put back in charge of

both football and business.

“What I’ve learned is that every

organization in the NFL is going

to have its quirks, but not to the

level of the ‘Skins,” one said.

The team has hired several

new people to replace those who

departed but hardly ever an-

nounces or acknowledges per-

sonnel moves on the business

side of the franchise.

Lafemina was hired in April as

the chief business officer of the

organizing committee for the

2028 Summer Olympic and Para-

lympic Games in Los Angeles.

[email protected]

Alex Andrejev and Liz Clarke

contributed to this report.

ment as stunning, and employees

were shocked team officials

seemed to have no plan for re-

placing Lafemina. “If Brian’s dis-

missal broke the camel’s back,

that meeting somehow made it

worse,” one former employee lat-

er said in describing the frustra-

tion of many of the workers.

“You could literally feel the

negative energy in the building

that day,” one ex-employee said.

“Everyone felt so crushed and

devastated. The feeling was: ‘We

literally can’t stay here.’ ”

Some of those who have left

point out that while it was a thrill

to work for an NFL team, their

jobs were the kind of early-career

opportunities that even in the

best of times would not have life

spans beyond four or five years.

According to their LinkedIn pro-

files, only about a third are still

working in professional sports.

Washington radio station 106.7

the Fan first reported on the

departures from the Redskins’

business staff.

The majority of those who left

were not people who were

brought in by Lafemina when the

team hired him. Instead, they

were employees ranging in em-

ployment from 11 months to 12

years.

heart broken by a significant

other,” another said. “We got our

hopes up only to have them

broken again.”

Professional sports teams will

often have significant turnover

on the business side when a

franchise is sold or a new team

president takes over. Redskins

officials have suggested the cur-

rent turnover is not any different

than another team that has made

a change at the top. The one

difference in Washington’s case,

however, is that Allen, who was

eventually put back in charge of

both football and business opera-

tions following Lafemina’s oust-

er, returned to a role he held less

than a year before.

“The personnel changes made

to our organization are part of a

forward-looking plan created by

our leadership team and, like any

organization, are driven by our

continuous motivation to im-

prove as a team both on and off

the field,” Tony Wyllie, the Red-

skins’ senior vice president of

communications, said Tuesday.

A key moment was a hastily

called staff meeting on the day

Lafemina was fired, led by Terry

Bateman, a team executive who is

now chief marketing officer. The

workers described the announce-

But when early-season finan-

cial returns showed a sharp

downturn in attendance and rev-

enue, Snyder and Allen blamed

Lafemina’s fan-friendly approach

rather than any shortcoming in

the team’s performance or with

FedEx Field itself, according to a

person with knowledge of their

thinking. In particular, Snyder

and Allen second-guessed

Lafemina’s disclosure that there

was no waiting list, his decision

to discount tickets and the per-

ceived implication, in vowing to

treat fans well, that the Redskins

hadn’t always done so.

Many of the business employ-

ees had been considering leaving

the organization before Lafemina

was hired but were so inspired by

his leadership style they put off

job searches in the hope he could

make a difference. They felt de-

flated when Lafemina and those

he brought with him — chief

marketing officer Steven Ziff and

chief commercial officer Todd

Kline — were let go on Dec. 26,

just days after another vice presi-

dent hired by him, Jake Bye,

resigned.

“Once they left it was like the

bottom dropped out,” one said. “A

lot of us felt hopeless after that.”

“It was almost like getting your

tunity. All those other people
were looking to get out as fast as
they could.”
The former workers said
Lafemina’s arrival in May 2018,
after Snyder spent nearly a year
recruiting him from the NFL’s
New York headquarters, had
brought hope of not only revers-
ing a trend of sagging attendance
and declining fan interest, but of
changing a work culture they
described as stagnant and dis-
missive of any opinion beyond
that of a tiny handful of top
executives.
Upon his hiring, Lafemina was
granted total control of the team’s
business operations, a responsi-
bility previously held by team
president Bruce Allen, who was
left in charge of the team’s foot-
ball decisions. Lafemina set out
to overhaul the Redskins’ ticket
operation, including acknowl-
edging a season ticket waiting list
the team once claimed numbered
200,000 no longer existed; insti-
tuting single-game ticket sales;
offering discounts for govern-
ment employees, scouts and serv-
ice members; and pledging to
“treat [fans] the way they ought
to be treated.”

REDSKINS FROM D1

Redskins training camp

JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST

Catching on

Redskins fourth-year wideout Josh Doctson hangs on to a pass in the end zone despite the best efforts of cornerback Quinton Dunbar.

Excerpted from
washingtonpost.com/redskins

Newcomer Penn aims

to play left tackle

Donald Penn may have some
inside information on the Trent
Williams saga, but he is not
sharing.
The Washington Redskins’
newest tackle said he is good
friends with Williams and talked
with him before signing. The
holdout of the seven-time Pro
Bowl honoree has left the
organization scrambling to shore
up the left side of the line —
hence the addition of Penn. But
the former Oakland Raider and
Tampa Bay Buccaneer said he
selected the Redskins from a
group of teams that showed
interest because he could play on
the left side and have the
opportunity to start.
If Penn wanted a chance to
start at left tackle, and he spoke
to Williams, what does that
indicate about Williams’s future
with the team?
“We had a good conversation
and we talked. We’re on the same
page,” Penn said. “I’m not going
to get into that too much. I
mean, it was a personal
conversation between me and
Trent, though, but I’ll just leave
it at that.”
With Williams not around,
Penn seems likely to compete
with 2018 third-round pick
Geron Christian for first-team
snaps during training camp. He
has three Pro Bowls on his
résumé and played in every
game of his 12-year career before
missing two in 2017 and 12 last
season. A Lisfranc foot injury
and a groin injury led to those
missed games, and he believes
he hurt the foot as a result of
playing right tackle as opposed
to his usual left tackle position,
because it required a different
plant foot.
“I remember at Tampa Bay, we
stole him off of Minnesota’s
practice squad,” Coach Jay
Gruden said. “He came in and
played pretty well for us for quite
a number of years. He is just a
good, solid veteran to have.”
It didn’t seem as if Penn would
do much in his first practice
Wednesday, but there he was in
pads taking some team reps. He
still has to learn the playbook,
but Gruden expected him to pick
it up quickly because he played
for Jon Gruden, Jay’s brother, in
Oakland, and the schemes are
similar. Penn said he has the
terminology and lingo down
already. Jon Gruden even sent a
text in the morning that read,
“You can’t shake the Grudens.”
“I was surprised because when
I got in there and met with them
this morning,” Penn said, “I’m
like, ‘Oh, I know this. Oh, I know
that. Oh, I know that.’ They’re
very similar.”
The bottom line question,
however, remains: What
happens if or when Williams
returns? Penn said that while he
chose Washington for the chance
to start at left tackle, he is open
to being the backup swing tackle
if Williams returns.
“I talked to Trent about that,
too,” Penn said. “So, we’ll see
what’s going to happen, but right
now I’m going to be focusing at
left tackle.”
— Kareem Copeland

REDSKINS NOTES

Tempers flare up again;

lineman Catalina cut

Things have been heated between the

offensive and defensive lines the past

two practices at Washington

Redskins training camp, with a

fracas breaking out both days. It

started with defensive lineman JoJo

Wicker and offensive lineman Tyler

Catalina on Tuesday. Catalina was cut

Wednesday morning.

The beef between the two position

groups had been building as heat

and padded practices increased the

intensity. The two groups could be

heard barking and swearing at each

other during a one-on-one period

during which a lineman from each

side faces off. By the end of the

period, tackle Morgan Moses,

defensive lineman Jonathan Allen

and others were clearly frustrated

with the opposite side.

The vocal back-and-forth

continued into the 11-on-11 period,

and just a few snaps in, quarterback

Colt McCoy was knocked to the

ground. Bodies swarmed in a hive of

shoves and takedowns when Coach

Jay Gruden had seen enough. Both

groups were sent to run sprints.

“We’ve just got to protect each

other,” offensive tackle Geron

Christian said. “Coach is completely

right. We don’t need to be out there

fighting. Sometimes it happens. It’s a

physical sport. Other than that, just

have to stay focused and know that

everybody wants the best for

everybody and just practice.... It’s

just football, honestly.”

The timing was not the best,

because the team was working in two

newly signed offensive linemen in

tackle Donald Penn and guard Hugh

Thornton and two players recently

returning from injury in starting

center Chase Roullier and Christian.

The unit has struggled during camp,

and the holdout of left tackle Trent

Williams has clearly had ripple

effects throughout the entire team.

“I know what the expectations

are‚” said Christian, who spent much

of his rookie season on injured

reserve and said his knee is no longer

a concern. “I’m in a better mental

state because I know what to expect

from Coach. I know the technique,

know all the calls. So there’s not

much learning I need to do other

than refreshing.... It’s just learning

the technique and being consistent

with it.”

The return of Roullier has

arguably been the biggest positive of

the week. He is clearly the top center

on the roster and is used to dealing

with new teammates at guard after

the team went through three sets of

them in 2018. He is close to 100

percent and said his delay in

returning from shoulder surgery was

more precautionary than anything.

“We’ve got some new guys, but

we’ve got a lot of the same guys as

well,” Roullier said “It’s just getting

some repetitions with each other and

you start to get used to where the guy

next to you is going to be. It happens

pretty quick. Unfortunately, I’ve

gotten pretty used to making sure it

happens quickly.”

Sweat suffers leg injury

First-round draft pick Montez Sweat

left practice during the early portion

with a lower leg injury. The outside

linebacker appeared to limp for a

moment before going down to one

knee and being attended to by the

medical staff. He didn’t take part in

the walk-through, but he was present

with a sleeve on his calf and has been

listed as day-to-day.

Gruden brothers chat

Gruden was asked about the

conversation he had with his brother

Jon about signing Penn, who played

for the Raiders from 2014 to 2018.

“He’s on ‘Hard Knocks.’ I didn’t ask

him,” Gruden said.

— Kareem Copeland

OBSERVATIONS

Excerpted from washingtonpost.com/redskins

NFL NOTES

Champion

Miami LB

Buoniconti

dies at 78

TODAY’S SCHEDULE

9:45 to 11:45 a.m., practice

4:40 to 5:40 p.m., walk-through

REDSKINS’ EXHIBITION SCHEDULE

Aug. 8 at Browns, 7:30 p.m.

Aug. 15 vs. Bengals, 7:30 p.m.

Aug. 22 at Falcons, 7:30 p.m.

Aug. 29 vs. Ravens, 7:30 p.m.

REDSKINS’ SEASON OPENER

Sept. 8 at Eagles, 1 p.m.

 MORE ONLINE

Visit washingtonpost.com/redskins

Frustrated by Lafemina firing, many sta≠ers quickly left Redskins

FROM NEWS SERVICES

AND STAFF REPORTS

Pro Football Hall of Fame mid-

dle linebacker Nick Buoniconti,

an undersized overachiever who

helped lead the Miami Dolphins to

the NFL’s only perfect season and

became a leader in the effort to

cure paralysis, died. He was 78.

Buoniconti, who died Tuesday

in Bridgehampton, N.Y., struggled

in recent years with symptoms of

CTE, a degenerative brain disease

associated with repeated blows to

the head. He had recently battled

pneumonia, Dolphins Senior Vice

President Nat Moore said.

The 5-foot-11, 220-pound Buon-

iconti was bypassed in the NFL

draft but went on to a 15-year

career. He was captain of the Dol-

phins’ back-to-back Super Bowl

champions, including the 1972

team that finished 17-0.

Following retirement, Buoni-

conti and his son, Marc, worked to

raise more than a half-billion dol-

lars for paralysis research. The

younger Buoniconti was para-

lyzed from the shoulders down

making a tackle for The Citadel in

1985.

Marc Buoniconti said his father

was his biggest hero.

“He could have been sitting on

the beach sipping champagne for

the rest of his life,” the younger

Buoniconti said in 2017. “But what

did he do? He went around and

gave the rest of his life to help his

son.”

Following retirement, Buoni-

conti worked as an attorney, a

broadcaster, as president of U.S.

Tobacco and as an agent to such

athletes as Bucky Dent and Andre

Dawson. For 23 seasons he was

co-host of the weekly sports show

“Inside the NFL” on the HBO cable

network.

“He lived a life of honor and

nobility, and his legacy will live

forever through his bronzed bust

in Canton, Ohio,” Pro Football Hall

of Fame President David Baker

said.

Buoniconti was chosen for the

all-time AFL team in 1970.

— Associated Press

Saints WR gets record deal

Michael Thomas had become,

relatively quietly, one of the NFL’s

most productive wide receivers

over the past three seasons with

the New Orleans Saints. On

Wednesday, he got the hefty con-

tract to match that on-field pro-

duction.

Thomas ended his holdout

from the Saints’ training camp

and became the league’s highest-

paid wideout, at least temporarily,

by agreeing to a five-year exten-

sion worth about $100 million,

according to a person familiar

with the deliberations. The deal

includes $61 million in guaran-

teed money.

Thomas becomes the NFL’s first

non-quarterback offensive player

to land a $100 million deal. He is

set to make $1.148 million this

season in the fourth and final year

of his rookie contract and was

absent from camp as he sought a

new deal. With the extension, he is

under contract with the Saints

through the 2024 season.

In a league of diva receivers,

Thomas is not the flashiest player

but is among the most effective.

He had 125 catches for 1,405 yards

and nine touchdowns last season.

Thomas, a second-round pick in

the 2016 NFL draft, has 321 catch-

es for 3,787 yards and 23 touch-

downs in his three NFL seasons.

— Mark Maske



COWBOYS: Dallas released

offensive lineman Larry Allen Jr.,

son of Hall of Fame guard Larry

Allen, to make room for linebacker

Justin Phillips.


TITANS: Tennessee placed

wide receiver Cam Batson on in-

jured reserve.

Batson was hurt Monday in

practice and walked off with a

trainer. The 5-foot-8, 175-pound

receiver was named one of the

Titans’ top offseason performers,

and he had eight catches for 82

yards in 11 games last season.


BILLS: Starting center Mitch

Morse is out indefinitely after be-

ing placed in the NFL’s concussion

protocol.

Coach Sean McDermott provid-

ed no details on how Morse was

hurt.



FALCONS: Atlanta first-

round pick Kaleb McGary had a

cardiac ablation procedure, the

team announced.

There is no immediate timeta-

ble for his return.

— Associated Press