On Wednesday, the Washington Commanders’ flagship radio station created the impression that it voluntary removed its flag from the choppy turf at FedEx Field. The Commanders contend otherwise.
“We initiated a formal [Request for Proposal] process last fall for the Washington Commanders Radio Broadcast Agreement, which concluded last week,” the team said in a statement issued to multiple outlets. “Multiple companies submitted bids as part of this process, including Audacy who was an active and aggressive participant and submitted multiple partnership proposals for the next three years of increased value over our previous deal. Based on the evaluation process, we selected a new partner who will bring a significantly larger deal, as well as new creativity and broader reach and scale, to programming. We shared with Audacy last week that we would not be moving forward as partners.”
In other words, despite a suggestion by Audacy’s Team 980 that it quit, the team contends it was basically fired.
“The organization and the company disagreed on the value of the broadcasts and the station believed it was also important to continue to be able to provide honest, objective information, analysis, and commentary about the Commanders,” Audacy explained on Wednesday.
Still, Team 980 submitted a proposal. If its proposal had been selected, Team 980 would presumably continue to be the flagship station.
The broader truth arising from this story is one that we already know, or at least should. A partnership of this nature often results in limits on the things that can or will be said. For a team like the Commanders, which has had far more controversies than victories in recent years, it can be difficult to bite the tongue and look the other way.
Still, Team 980’s position would be easier to accept if it simply had said declined to submit a proposal. It tried to continue to operate within the confines of an obvious conflict of interest.
Now, someone else will have the honor of broadcasting the games in exchange for zipping its lip as to certain things the team would rather not have people hear. The far better play would be for the Commanders to welcome any and all scrutiny from its radio partner. Sometimes, those kinds of checks and balances can help an organization avoid doing or saying something for which it will be criticized, by its partners or by anyone else.
