Whoo boy, has it been a difficult week for the New York Jets and team owner Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson.
On Tuesday, a New York Times story said President Donald Trump asked Johnson, his ambassador to the United Kingdom since 2017, to help him direct the British Open to a Trump resort. As if that wasn’t enough, a day later, CNN reported that the State Department investigated Johnson for allegedly making racist and sexist comments to staff.
Johnson denied the reports on his Twitter account.
“I have followed the rules and ethical requirements of my office at all times,” he said. “These false claims of callous comments about race and gender are totally inconsistent with my long-standing history and values.”
I have followed the rules and ethical requirements of my office at all times. These false claims of callous comments about race and gender are totally inconsistent with my long-standing history and values.
– Ambassador Johnson (@USAmbUK) July 22, 2020
The CNN report cited sources claiming that Johnson’s comments on the appearance of women were “shame-worthy” and that he made racist generalizations about black men and questioned why the black community celebrates Black History Month.
The entirety of the reports, in which Johnson seems to show a lack of empathy for the problems minorities face in this country, was so troubling that the Fritz Pollard Alliance, an organization struggling to increase minority representation in the NFL. , felt compelled to release a statement Thursday. Group President Harry Carson and executive Rod Graves said:
The Fritz Pollard Alliance is deeply concerned about the accusations of callous comments about race and gender made by New York Jets owner Woody Johnson while serving abroad as United States Ambassador. Accusations of this nature, if true, are detrimental to the social fabric of our country and cannot be tolerated. While they are only allegations at this time, they are serious. We call on the NFL to carefully monitor this situation and, if the allegations have merit, take appropriate action and work to remove such feelings from the NFL community. “
So yes. As Pete Campbell from “Mad Men” could say … not great, Bob! Especially since Johnson is a member of the NFL’s property spectrum, which overwhelmingly distorts the elderly, the wealthy, the men and the whites.
Jets owner Woody Johnson denied making any racist or sexist comments while serving as the United States’ ambassador to the United Kingdom. (Photo by Al Pereira / Getty Images)
The news is also particularly disappointing, as the Jets’ ownership appears to be a little more sympathetic to black activism than its brothers throughout the league. When the NFL approved a policy in the summer of 2018 that forced players to represent the national anthem, Johnson’s brother Chris, who acts as team owner while Woody played his role in the Trump administration, voted in favor of the change. , citing the obligation to “support him from the point of view of membership,” but offered to pay his players’ fines and said there would be no suspensions or repercussions for kneeling. The NFL froze politics weeks later.
However, the latest allegations weaken the goodwill that Jets owners received after that. Star safety Jamal Adams even trashed the owner of the Jets on Twitter, noting that “we need the RIGHT people on top.” What’s wrong is wrong, “he added later,” if you don’t think this is wrong, you’re part of the problem, not the solution. “
Granted, Adams is agitated by the lack of movement in the long-term contract that was promised to him this offseason. But his comments remain interesting because, during a difficult week for the Jets, Adams’ version of events also suggests a lack of integrity at the highest levels of the organization. And coming from one of the youngest NFL team captains, it’s not a small burden. It is much easier to lead from the front when someone has moral authority, which makes people follow because they are inspired by them, not because they simply own the team they play for.
Unfortunately, we are all too often reminded that NFL team ownership is often in positions of command for the latter reason and not the former, with the complete absence of Dan Snyder’s leadership in Washington as a perfect example of this, in addition to The incredibly offensive comment from late Texan owner Bob McNair in 2017.
And every time one of the owners of these teams does or says something offensive, or allows it to happen in their organization, the players never hesitate to talk about it, their frustration is compounded by the incomprehensible fact that in a league which is 70 percent black, there are only two owners of color in the NFL, neither of which is black.
The fact that there has never been an owner of a black NFL team also stands out as a sore thumb, as well as the lack of black faces in leadership positions at the lower levels of the 32 organizations.
In response to this, many black players, assistant coaches and scouts have long exhorted the need for team owners to change their hearts if they want to solve the league’s diversity problem.
The allegations against Johnson, regardless of the results of the State Department investigation, offer evidence as to why.
