Stephen A. Smith wants Commanders to have Black ownership: ‘It is far time that it has happened’

Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder announced Tuesday that he is taking the first steps to a possible sale of his franchise, and ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith knows what ownership should be.  

“I’m talking about a majority owner of a National Football League franchise that happens to be a Black person. That would be nice,” he said on “First Take” following the announcement. 

Smith made it a point to stay on the panel for the segment after he was on to discuss controversial Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving because he feels strongly that the Commanders, and the league as a whole, would benefit from Black ownership. 

“One of the things we have discussed and lamented throughout recent history is the lack of representation, the lack of diversity when it comes to the ownership,” he said. “Maybe if there were Black owners, more issues would be addressed more poignantly, more transparency would exist. Obviously more coaches would be of African American descent and beyond. So, I think I look at this as an opportunity to ingratiate an African American into the proceedings.”

Smith added that there is some representation of African American ownership, mentioning Mellody Hobson, who is a minority owner of the Denver Broncos. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is also a part of the ownership group. 

“It is far time that it has happened in the National Football League. Over 65% of its players are Black. Obviously, we understand that,” Smith explained. “We recognize that it’s the most popular sport in North America. We get all of that as well. We know how big time the NFL is. You’re talking about it being worth billions upon billions of dollars, and there are enough Black folks with deep pockets who would love to be a part of the cash cow that is the National Football league. This is an opportunity for them to do it.”

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Who could headline the ownership group? Smith suggested Jay-Z and Beyoncé might want to get into sports ownership again. However, Jay-Z had to sell his minority stake in the Nets because he started Roc Nation Sports, a division of his Roc Nation which represents athletes throughout multiple leagues.

The Snyder family controls all shares of the Commanders, as they bought out minority partners in March 2021. But Snyder’s time in Washington has been the subject of many investigations and accusations of a toxic workplace environment, which is still ongoing. 

The official statement that was released stated, “The Snyders remain committed to the team, all of its employees and its countless fans to putting the best product on the field and continuing the work to set the gold standard for workplaces in the NFL.”

According to a report from Forbes, several interested parties have been in contact with Snyder. However, Snyder has been steadfast in his position to not wanting to sell the team. Meanwhile, fellow owner Jim Irsay of the Indianapolis Colts told reporters during the NFL Fall Meetings that he thought “merit” was found to consider voting Snyder out of ownership. 

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“I believe there is merit to removing him as owner of the [Commanders],” Irsay said in October from the hotel lobby of a New York hotel. “There’s consideration that he should be removed.”

An investigation by lawmakers found that Snyder played a significant role in fostering a toxic work environment and pointed to evidence that suggested Snyder impeded the NFL’s independent probe into those allegations. Snyder refused to testify at a hearing before the House lawmakers in June as part of the investigation. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell did offer his testimony before the committee.

The NFL would fine the organization $10 million and Snyder was told to focus on other issues after last year’s outcome of the investigation, while his wife, co-CEO Tanya Snyder, was told to focus more on team matters. 

Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.