Magic Johnson Hopes to Cure Commanders 'Headaches'

The Washington Commanders look to change the culture with Josh Harris and Magic Johnson leading the ownership group.

Jeremy Brener | Jul 30, 2023

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Washington Commanders

The Washington Commanders have dealt with a lot during the Dan Snyder era, which came to an end on July 20 after the 31 other NFL owners voted unanimously to approve the sale of the franchise to Josh Harris.

Among Harris' team of partners who helped him fund the $6.05 billion to purchase the organization is Magic Johnson, who has experience in owning and investing in sports franchises after a successful Hall-of-Fame career in the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Magic knows what it's like to win, having done so with the Lakers many times throughout the 1980s, and he hopes to bring some of his expertise with him to the Commanders.

"We want to take all the headaches away from the players and coaches," Johnson said. "We want them to concentrate on being great football players and winning games and just coaching games. We want to make it easy for them. And that's what we're going to do."

Snyder did anything but during his 24-year tenure with the Commanders. "Ethically challenged behaviors" ran rampant under Snyder and caused him to be fined $60 million as he exited the door as Washington's owner following an investigation by former U.S. Attorney and SEC Chair Mary Jo White.

With Harris and Magic at the forefront, they hope to build a culture quite different from the one Snyder built and inherited as the Commanders seek their first Super Bowl in over 30 years.

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Published Jul 30, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.