Ron Rivera Releases Statement For Commanders

The culture in Washington has recently come under fire and Commanders head coach Ron Rivera has released a statement to address the issue.

Wanted to share my thoughts. @Commanders @whoisjwright @AdamSchefter pic.twitter.com/EsWrdrNYWh

— Ron Rivera (@RiverboatRonHC) June 23, 2022

“With all due respect to the proceedings, I want to clarify a few things. When Dan & Tanya Snyder were in the provers of hiring me they asked me to do two things. Win! And help us change our culture. So to be clear, on January 2, 2020, the day I was hired, we started putting into place tangible protocols in our efforts to correct any inappropriate workplace issues and improve our workplace environment,” Ron Rivera wrote. “The Snyders were very deliberate in finding the best person to run the business side, and I was consulted throughout the process. We agreed that Jason Wright was the best person, not because he checked off a box as a minority, but because of his experience as an NFL player, his education and work experience as a partner with McKinsey & Co. Jason has been nothing but exceptional in hiring a talented and diverse group of people to run the business side. Throughout the fall of 2020 the organization saw many new standards put in place and protocols for employees to voice and address any issues, as well as putting an NFC East Division winning team on the field. When the Wilkinson report was completed in the spring of 2021 on behalf of the NFL, our organization has already put interlace or was in the process of implementing the suggestions mentioned in the report.”

“These investigations into inappropriate workplace issues pre-dates my employment. I can not change the past, but I would hope that our fans, the NFL and Congress can see that we are doing everything in our power to never repeat those workplace issues. And know that out employees are respected, valued and can be heard.”

“Change the Culture Win — working on it! Go Commanders!”

It’s sad coaches still have to release statements like these, but the whole statement was confusing, if we’re being honest. Rivera in a way mentions that not enough minorities were in the game, then immediately says they weren’t hiring people purely because they were minorities. You can’t have both. The culture is either acknowledging they don’t hire enough minorities and need to hire more by eliminating white coaches from the pool, or you’re always hiring the best coaches regardless of race and the hired coaches’ skin colors won’t matter.

And more importantly, the past in Washington should be irrelevant to Ron Rivera. All that matters, especially to him personally, is what he’s doing today to impact culture in Washington. If people don’t like something you’ve said or a coach your staff hired, ignore them. His apology will only lead to Commanders fans believing they always need to be addressed. Sometimes we listen to dweebs whine on the internet and choose to ignore them so we can get on to some football. This should have been one of those instances.