Using Brian Robinson as a shield is the latest embarrassing move by Dan Snyder and the Commanders

In an email to reporters sent Wednesday Karl Racine, the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, announced on a press conference for Thursday to announce a “major announcement” regarding the Washington Commanders.

On Wednesday night, the Commanders released a statement in advance of Attorney General Racine’s press conference, pushing back on the news.

And invoking the shooting of rookie running back Brian Robinson in an absurd, tone-deaf way to shift the attention away from the Commanders and owner Dan Snyder:

The statement begins with a reference to Robinson’s shooting, and to the “out-of-control violent crime” in D.C. It also contains a reference to Attorney General Racine’s “final days in office,” “offbeat legal theories,” and then chastises the Attorney General for not “bringing to justice the people who shot one of our players.”

In addition, the statement seems to imply — given the timing — that Attorney General Racine is leaving office because he was voted out. In fact, Attorney General Racine decided not to seek a third term and endorsed the candidate who went on to win the election to replace him on Tuesday.

Putting aside the fact that the two alleged perpetrators of this crime were arrested days ago and face charges of Assault, the attacks on the District of Columbia and the blatant “whataboutism” throughout the statement, using the Robinson incident to deflect attention away from the multitude of investigations into Snyder and the Commanders, is just the latest sign that the owner of the franchise — or at least those working for him — simply do not get it.

When Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay spoke at the recent NFL league meetings, and opened the door to Snyder’s removal as owner of the franchise, in the wake of explosive ESPN reporting regarding the lengths Snyder was willing to go in retaining control of the team, Snyder again fired back, first through a spokesman and later through a letter to fellow owners. After Irsay’s remarks a statement from a team spokesperson started with “[i]t is highly inappropriate, but not surprising, that Mr. Irsay opted to make statements publicly based on falsehoods in the media.”

It concluded with a reference to Irsay calling for Snyder to sell the team with “ ... Mr. Irsay will conclude that there is no reason for the Snyders to consider selling the franchise. And they won’t.”

The letter to the owners began with a direct attack on ESPN’s reporting:

I would like to address a recent ESPN article that contains false and malicious statements about the Washington Commanders, our management team, and me and my family. It is particularly shameful for ESPN to diminish the very real accomplishments of our President Jason Wright, who ESPN alleges was placed at the Commanders by the League and has no power to make real change. I know you know this to be false. Unfortunately, ESPN ignored our efforts to correct the many falsehoods in their article before its publication.

This summer, after Commissioner Roger Goodell testified before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform — a hearing Snyder was invited to attend and testify at, but he refused, citing a previously-scheduled event out of the country — a statement from the team attacked the hearing and the investigation as “predetermined,” and “little more than a politically-charged show trial.”

At the start of the month, after Snyder and his wife Tanya released a statement indicating they had retained Bank of American Securities to explore “all options” regarding a potential sale of the team, news broke from ESPN that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Virginia had opened a criminal investigation into allegations that the team engaged in financial improprieties.

Now, stop me if you have heard this before, but the team released a statement after the reporting, going after ESPN. The statement, from John Browlnee of the law firm Holland & Knight, read in part “[i]t is not surprising that ESPN is publishing more falsehoods based solely on anonymous sources – given today’s announcement.” Furthermore, the statement indicated that the investigation was based on the testimony of a “former disgruntled employee.”

That brings us back to the statement on Wednesday night, invoking the shooting of one of Washington’s own players as a means of deflecting attention away from Snyder and what he and the organization may be facing from the D.C. Attorney General’s office. To say that this statement completely failed to read the room might be underselling it, as it received swift, and harsh, condemnation on social media after its release. And with reason.

Including from Robinson’s agent:

According to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network, the statement came from the “upper reaches” of the organization, and not from the football side:

Team president Jason Wright provided a statement late on Wednesday night, highlighting that the organization’s “external counsel” was behind the release from earlier in the day:

Might have wanted to slip in an apology to your player in this, but that is just me.

As we know from ESPN, Snyder seems willing to go to any length to maintain his control over the organization. The pattern of behavior, including statements such as the one we saw Wednesday, of deflecting blame or trying to distract from underlying issues, is nothing new for Snyder and those who are speaking on his behalf.

Referencing the shooting of one of the team’s players as a means of distracting from yet more controversy swirling around the team? Apparently that is next step in the evolution of an embattled owner and those giving him advice and counsel.