Snyder (pictured) initially granted Lafemina broad latitude to overhaul the Redskins' ticket operationgetty images
The Redskins have "ousted" President of Business Operations & COO Brian Lafemina after "less than eight months on the job, dissatisfied with the early returns on his efforts to boost flagging season-ticket sales and game-day revenue," according to Liz Clarke of the WASHINGTON POST. The "rise and fall" of Lafemina -- who was "granted total control of the team's business operations -- represents stunning management whiplash." Departing along with Lafemina in a "major shake-up of the team's business operations were the key people he brought on board" -- CMO Steve Ziff, who was hired in June; and Chief Commercial Officer Todd Kline, who was hired in August. Redskins Senior VP/Consumer Sales & Marketing Jake Bye "resigned Friday." Lafemina was initially "granted broad latitude ... to overhaul the Redskins' ticket operation" by Owner Dan Snyder, and he "worked quickly and on multiple fronts." Lafemina "started with transparency -- acknowledging in June that a season-ticket waiting list the team had claimed numbered 200,000 no longer existed." He also "instituted single-game ticket sales; launched special promotions for government employees, scouts and service members; tried to improve the home-field advantage by wrestling unsold seats from the hands of brokers who had been selling divisional games to Cowboys, Eagles and Giants fans; removed obstructed seats; upgraded stadium amenities; and vowed to 'treat (fans) the way they ought to be treated.'" Snyder is "said to be frustrated not only with his team's performance but also in the waning appeal" of FedExField (WASHINGTON POST, 12/27).
SLOW EARLY RETURNS: In DC, Matthew Paras in a front-page piece writes the Redskins' decision to "move on" from Lafemina and his team was "stunning, even for a franchise that, under Mr. Snyder's ownership, has developed a reputation for impatience with coaches and executives." When Lafemina was hired in June after eight years at the NFL's office, he said that he "wanted to 'grab back' home-field advantage." However, over the course of the season, "huge swaths" of FedExField were "either empty -- or, in some cases, filled by fans of opposing teams." The Redskins have "yet to post a sellout this season" heading into this year's finale against the Eagles. The home-opening win over the Colts "drew just 57,013 -- snapping the team's self-proclaimed 50-year streak" of sellouts. A "lack of interest has hurt television ratings as well." The Redskins' last home game -- a 40-16 loss to the Giants on Dec. 9 -- "drew just a 14 household rating locally." The Eagles-Cowboys game later that same day "drew a 19.8 in the same households" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 12/27). In Richmond, Michael Phillips reports Lafemina also "worked to build bridges with organizations that had previously been frozen out" by the franchise, including WJFK-FM. The market's top sports radio station was allowed to "begin interviewing players again under Lafemina's watch." The station in past seasons had been "blocked from working with the team in the interest of promoting" WTEM-AM, the team's rights-holder and the flagship station for Snyder's Red Zebra Media. Snyder sold WTEM to Urban One in May (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 12/27).
ON A SHORT LEASH: In DC, JP Finlay noted the business team was "given less than a year to implement their ideas, and it will be hard to know if things improve next season." The exit of Lafemina, Ziff, Kline and Bye just "adds more drama" to a Redskins '18 campaign that was "full of it" (NBCSPORTSWASHINGTON.com, 12/26). YAHOO SPORTS' Frank Schwab noted Lafemina "came to the Redskins after years with the NFL and a lot of respect for the job he did there." Even though he was let go by the team, a "long track record of Redskins ineptitude indicates he wasn't the problem" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 12/26).
NOT ALWAYS THE BEST POLICY: In DC, Sally Jenkins writes it seems honesty is what will "get you fired" by the Redskins. The "quickest way to lose your job is to refuse to parrot the institutional lie." Lafemina was "let go for honestly acknowledging their lousy business practices and busting the myth that there is a waiting list for tickets." He was unable to "counter the no-standards, self-deceiving culture" that Snyder has "built over nearly two decades." There is "no hand firm enough to pull this franchise out of its crazy gimbal-lock spin, the constant pitching and rolling and yawing from Snyder's unsteady hand on the controls." Jenkins: "Only the yes men can survive it" (WASHINGTON POST, 12/27). NBCSPORTSWASHINGTON.com's Finlay wrote the departed business execs were not even "given a full football season to implement their strategy." The moves only "bring more questions and looking ahead, there aren't that many answers." Finlay: "What happens with ticket sales and the search for a new stadium? Does [President] Bruce Allen take back over the business duties in addition to running the football operation?" The questions are "mounting for the Redskins," and the "answers are hard to find" (NBCSPORTSWASHINGTON.com, 12/26).
