A small group of advisors, including coach Ron Rivera, is aiding Snyder in the name change processGETTY IMAGES
While many people familiar with the Washington NFL team's name change have said that they "hope the new name is in place before Washington’s regular season opener Sept. 13, there is a sense the team and NFL are shooting for something much faster than that," according to Les Carpenter of the WASHINGTON POST. A source said that the preference is for Washington to have its new name "by the start of training camp July 28." Carpenter notes that means team Owner Daniel Snyder has two weeks to "complete a process that most corporations take a minimum of two months to finish." Little is "known about Washington’s review process." Sources said that Snyder is "relying heavily on a small group of advisers that includes Coach Ron Rivera." A source said that Snyder "worries possible new names or logos could leak if he involves too many outside opinions, and therefore he wants to keep the process as tight as possible" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/15).
LOCAL OPINIONS: In DC, John Feinstein writes it is "hardly a surprise to anyone" that, when Snyder was "finally forced, kicking and screaming, to change the name of his football team, he did it with the complete lack of grace that has come to symbolize his fractious ownership in the past 20 years." Nothing in this process has "suggested genuine transparency, much less an actual crisis of conscience." Snyder has "turned what could have been something close to a win-win into a lose-lose" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/15). Also in DC, Jerry Brewer writes under the header, "Future NFL Fans Will Wonder Why This Name Change Was So Controversial" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/15).
