NFL Owners Approve Sale of Washington Commanders

Magic Johnson Joins Josh Harris-led Group as Commanders’ Co-owner

By Ed Hill WI Contributing Writer

It is finally official. The long-awaited sale of the Washington Commanders football franchise is finally in the books.

During a special league meeting in Bloomington, Minnesota, Thursday, July 20, the NFL team owners unanimously approved a group led by Josh Harris to purchase the franchise. It came at a hefty price tag – a record-breaking $6.05 billion. Harris and his group purchased the franchise from former owner Daniel Snyder, who owned the local team since 1999 when he bought it from the late Jack Kent Cooke for $800 million in 1999.

Harris’s group includes NBA Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic”Johnson and billionaire Mitchell Rales, who, like Harris, is from Maryland. There are 20 limited partners in the Harris group, just under the NFL ownership limit of 25. Each partner had to be vetted for financial and security reasons.

Johnson wrote in a tweet following the announcement, “God is so good…I still can’t believe it! I am currently living in an answered prayer. Since beginning my journey as an athlete and now businessman and team owner, it’s all been a dream that has come full circle.

“I grew up playing football as a kid, I’m a huge NFL fan, and I watch games every week,” Johnson continued. “Now, I get to co-own a storied franchise, the Washington Commanders.”

HIGH HOPES FOR COMMANDER’S FUTURE

“This is the second greatest day for this proud franchise,” said Butch “The Coach” McAdams, a D.C. native and sports radio host for "In and Out of Sports” on WOL Radio. “The first was when they defeated the Buffalo Bills in the 1992 Super Bowl.

McAdams said, “When the news broke, the first thing I could think of was Martha and the Vandellas’ song, “Dancing in the Streets.”

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Chester Himes

JULY 27

2004 – Then-Sen. Barack Obama delivers an acclaimed keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, putting him on the national politics radar and launching him on the path to the White House four years later.

JULY 28

1868 – The 14th Amendment, guaranteeing to African Americans citizenship, and all its privileges, is ratified.

JULY 29

1895 – The first National Convention of Black Women is held in Boston.

1909 – Crime novelist Chester Himes, author of "Cotton Comes to Harlem" and "A Rage in Harlem," is born in Jefferson City, Missouri.

JULY 30

1936 – Famed blues guitarist/singer Buddy Guy is born in Lettsworth, Louisiana.

1945 – Adam Clayton Powell Jr., activist and politician, is elected to represent the congressional district including Harlem — the first Black congressman from New York state.

JULY 31

1874 – Patrick Francis Healy, is inaugurated as president of Georgetown University, the first African American president of a predominantly White college.

1921 – Civil rights leader Whitney M. Young is born in Lincoln Ridge, Kentucky.

AUG. 1

1879 – Mary Eliza Mahoney graduates from the nursing program at the New England Hospital for Women and Children, becoming the first African American registered nurse.

1894 – Benjamin Mays, educator and civil rights icon, is born in Ninety Six, South Carolina

1941 – Ron Brown, U.S. secretary of commerce during the Clinton administration, is born in Washington, D.C.

AUG. 2

1924 – Famed Black writer James Baldwin is born in Harlem. WI

BY SARAFINA WRIGHT

The Florida Board of Education unanimously approved new guidelines for public schools, stating that students should understand those held in slavery “developed skills” that “could be applied for their personal benefit.” The decision has drawn backlash locally and from around the nation. What are your thoughts?

PATRICE THOMAS / MERIDIAN, IDAHO

I would like to file a lawsuit against the Board of Education for allowing the whitewashing of my American history on my tax dollars. If states in this country decide to reshape the federal education system to suit them and them alone, then my tax dollars should not be used to support their efforts. If Florida wants to do this, it must fund every aspect of its plan. Remove federal education funding from the state.

ERICA STANDLEY / KANSAS CITY, KAN.

The most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Why is this even partly OK anywhere?

ELSIE MAE / LOS ANGELES, CALIF.

So they banned critical race theory, but somehow this is OK. Florida is so garbage.

FELICIA KENDRICK / WASHINGTON, D.C.

I swear this country is going backward.

NINI B. / NEW YORK

So, they won’t teach “critical race theory,” but they will teach this instead. I don’t think the slaves developed those skills in slavery. They had those skills and were using them before they were stolen from their land.