Washington Commanders team president Jason Wright knows that winning is good for business, but that business won't be sustainable without a positive culture underlying it.
"We understand that this is not just a business, that this is a community trust," he said to Jeremy Schaap in an interview for "Outside the Lines."
Trust has been in short supply in Landover, Maryland. In his 24 years as owner Daniel Snyder was at first viewed as unconventional and finally seen as the head of a toxic organization. Numerous investigations found everything from sexism and harassment to financial impropriety.
Snyder finally sold to a group led by Josh Harris, the billionaire managing partner of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils. But the work to transform the franchise started years before, and Wright has been on the job for three years.
"When I took this job ... our whole focus was culture at the beginning," he said. "I mean, we've turned over 85% of the organization."
He said that "the football team will be resourced to win championships," but that isn't enough.
"You can have a peak, a quick peak of business performance, but it will not be sustained unless you have healthy organizational culture underneath -- people who are treated well," Wright said.
That community-building will apply to the game-day experience.
"You'll see more and more local vendors, especially Black-owned, brown-owned, women-owned and veteran-owned businesses providing food," he said.
Other changes? That will depend on what the fans want. Some of those fans are clamoring for another name change. Wright said it's not high on the list, but they will consider everything.
"I'll say what Josh said. And that's that ... the biggest thing is making sure that we are listening to the fans and we are moving on the things that the fans care about," Wright said.
