I know a lot of folks in our ren
have been waiting to hear again.
We have to really say it out lod
to soak in so it feels real.
The commanders have officially been sold.
Yeah, that's right.
NFL owners just voted to seal
the deal roughly 10 minutes ago.
Yeah, this means Dan Snyder
about to eat out of here.
Well, he is out of here now.
The Josh Harris group will be
taking the reins of the team.
Yeah, you know,
we've been on top of this storym
the get go and we are not stopping now.
Eric Flack is partying with Commander,
Super fans and Navy Yard tonigh.
We'll get some of their reaction
in just a minute.
First, though,
to Charlotte McBride in Minneap.
Right outside the room where
this vote happened.
Charlotte Phyllis in on
some of the details here.
Yeah, guys, I'm right outside the room,
as you just mentioned
where this all happened.
It's been a wild ride to get he,
as you guys know.
And as we know from where Eric
Flack is reporting tonight,
a lot of Washington fans
celebrating in the streets.
What we know that the vote was
done just about 10 minutes ago.
It is unanimous, of course,
all of the other NFL team owners
voting to approve the sale
of the Washington commander.
To the Josh Harris group,
as you guys mentioned.
So we were told in about 4 minus
from now in this room behind me
that NFL Commissioner Roger Gool
and of course the new commander.
Owner Josh Harris will be
holding a news conference.
So we'll hear from them
immediately after the vote.
The owners starting to
trickle out of the rooms now,
many of them just quickly
stopping to tell us things like.
This is great.
We're happy.
And earlier today we heard
from Colts owner Jim Ursay.
He of course said he was hopeful
it would go through.
We just talked to him.
He said it is a great day and of
course also hearing from Jerry Jones,
he was also hopeful going in,
coming out all smiles.
So all the owners obviously wand
this to happen as all of them cg
out now and voted unanimously.
I'm told everyone's going in here behind me.
So guys,
I got to send it back to you bee
we were about to hear from the w
owner of the Washington Command.
All right, Charlotte, thank you.
Now we're going to go check in h
Eric Flack who is at the bullpen
the Navy Yard right near Nats P.
And Eric, I, I, I've got to ask you this.
There has been universal hatred,
really disdain towards towards Dan Snyder.
There's not really two sides of this thing.
How how are people feeling
down there about the sale?
I think you know how people down
here are feeling about the sale,
Longo, they dumped this party.
Burgundy and sold.
It was put together by a
bunch of radio stations,
including one O 6.7 The Fan.
I didn't really know what to ex,
but people have taken this and run with it.
There are taking selfies.
We have some former Washington
football legends like Brian Mitl
and Rick Doc Walker here.
People have their gear.
They are taking videos,
they're taking pictures with their kids,
all because this is a day that y
of them have waited years for.
Talk about your shirt.
It's just by.
By then, we are done with you.
Get out of our city and leave
our football team alone.
We never want to see you again.
We are rejoicing. This is the ed
of a Snyder era that we have ha.
We have basically been.
The Devil for like 20-4 years straight.
I mean, no more of them
making decisions. No more
problems or drama in the
front office. Hopefully
Josh Air is coming in and
we got magic coming in.
We're going to have magic here
with us. I've never been here fr
one for closing Constitution Av.
and having a ticker tape parade.
This is the next best thing.
I fully expect to be here for
another ticker tape parade,
but this will have to do until .
The brand new beginnings,
as they say, you know,
it's a beautiful day.
Everyone's going to be happy.
Wake up tomorrow knowing that our whole new
organization is going to be moving forward.
It's going to be bringing back e
winning tradition to our city h.
All right guys, the party here continues.
We're going to have more coming up at 6:00.
For now, they are celebrating
here at Bullpen at Navy Yard.
Now we go to the press
conference right now live.
All right, Flack. Yeah.
As you said, that press conferee
happening between our NFL commissioner
Roger Goodell and Josh Harris.
Let's listen in. OK,
Thank you. All set.
OK, let me make a few comments about Josh.
I think Josh is going to be a great addition
to the NFL and his ownership gr.
He has a remarkable business re.
Not just in finance, but also now in sports.
And I think he's a a person who
cares deeply about not just his
assets but his more importantlys
communities and how he gives ba.
So we look forward to having
Josh a part of the league.
He's brought a an incredible grp
of investors and partners that l
seem to have ties to Washington.
As someone who grew up in Washington,
I know how important that france
is to that community and.
The franchise Noah's in good has
with this group so we're thrillo
have them and so we'll invite Josh up,
he'll take a few questions and
then I'll be back
for a few more questions.
And hello everyone. It's an exciting day and
Commissioner, thank you for
voting for us and. Allowing
us to be partners and great
stewards in the NFL and we're
excited for your trust and
we will not let you down.
So as a as a lifelong Washington football
fan, they grew up in Chevy Chas.
I'm incredibly excited and humbled by the
opportunity to serve alongside my partners
as stewarts of this great franchise on
behalf of the city of Washingto.
When my first memories as a chid
was walking down East Capitol Street,
walking in the RFK Stadium,
hearing the roar of the crowd,
you know, feeling the rumble,
I grew up watching Sonny Jergen,
Billy Kilmer, Joe Theisman,
Mark Rippen, Doug Williams, you know,
the Hogs, Joe Gibbs, Daryl Gree,
our Monk and three Super Bowls.
And I remember that's the
Washington then Redskins, Now,
Commanders, that I remember.
This franchise is part of who Im
and who I've become as a person,
but being a fan is not enough
To be successful.
We understand that we need
to win championships,
create a positive impact on the community,
and create incredible memories d
great experiences for our fan b,
much like I had as a youth
growing up in Washington.
We'll have more to say in the ds
that come, but today I want to
leave it here to our team and te
incredible fan base in Washingt.
A new era of Washington football is here.
It's time to get to work.
Thank you. We'll begin now
with questions from Mr. Harris.
We do have the microphones.
Washington Post.
No, it's obviously wasn't
up and down process.
What are your feelings about the
process as you get to the end o?
Also, do you have a sense of
the significance that this day
holds for both the fan base
and for the league as a whole?
You look, I mean obviously
it was a long process.
Sometimes that's what happens.
We're very excited to get to
work and to start the new era
of Washington football and.
Yeah, I mean we we are humbled d
awed by the level of responsibiy
that we have to to take care ofe
city and to win championships and you
know really excite the fans. Ag,
you you just stated how you
grew up as a Washington fan.
Has it been hard for you to seew
the the team is kind of deteriod
over the last couple decades and
what do you feel is a responsiby
to kind of rebuild that and how?
It was an immense responsibilit.
Yeah. Look, I mean, obviously it's an
amazing day for me and very exciting.
But I'm, I've had many sleepless nights
and I will have many sleepless nights.
Like, I'm going to sweat this.
I feel an awesome sense of responsibility.
The city of Washington,
I know what I got to do.
And ultimately that comes down to winning.
And it's not easy.
There are 31 other owners that
are good at what they do.
There are 31 other cities.
But it's on me and it's on our
ownership group to deliver and
that's what we're going to do.
Hey Josh, Congrats. You've talked about
the glory years and everything d
all of that was at RFK Stadium,
Roger Goodell, last time we spo,
he said he understands how important RFK is,
how important is RFK to you andd
how do you view that in the prif
the the new brand and are there a lot
of things for you to consider t?
Look, I mean obviously we're jut
getting here and we're on the ef
training camp which starts, you know,
obviously this weekend and into next week.
And you know, our first priority
is like going to be football
and what we do on the field.
We're hard at work trying to
figure out how we improve fan
experience and then we're goingo
start engaging with the communi.
Those are our three priorities d
obviously there's a lot of thin.
I mean what I love about Washin,
it has incredibly passionate.
Football fans and they want to
talk about a lot of things and
obviously that's one of them and
we're going to be focused on th.
But right now it's day one and
it's going to take a while to
unpack what really makes sense.
As far as RFKI mean,
obviously I understand it's the spiritual
home of the history of the Commanders.
Next
we'll go to Charlotte
from Channel 9.
Hey there. I know that you havea
home in Philadelphia, New Jerse,
obviously, owning different
teams and different sports.
How involved you see yourself
being with the commanders.
Do you see yourself being in
Washington a lot of the time?
Yes. So look, first of all,
my mom is in Washington,
my friends, where I grew up,
she's still there.
So I'm going to be in Washington a lot.
I'm going to, I need to be pres.
I'm going to be part of the community again.
I'm really looking forward to coming home.
Cousins, friends and and so yea,
I have a lot going on.
But you know this is incredibly
important right now for this ciy
and I'm going to be remembered r
what I do in Washington and so that's
not lost on me and so I'm all i.
Let's go
next, Ben from the Athletic.
Hey, Josh, you mentioned the
football side of things opposit.
You've got a lot to evaluate.
But how right now what,
how much have you been already studying and
how much have you been kind of aware of,
you know, what's been going on
on that side of the building?
Yeah, so we haven't
really had a lot of access.
When you before you own an NFL m
or pick picked on an NFL team,
really there's a lot of
different rules to stay away.
So we've. I've met.
I've obviously met the football staff.
And I've obviously witnessed wht
they've done from the outside in terms
of some of the improvements they brought
to the team over the last few y.
It's a big important season.
But you know, day one we're goio
be engaging with them and tryino
understand how they take and what they do.
And so for the for the first season, right,
we're getting here right at training camp.
The reality is that a lot of wht
you do as an ownership to affect
A-Team happens prior to this po.
And so we're going to be doing a lot of
listening and learning and watching and,
you know, watching what Ron and his staff do.
Thank you, Mr. Harris.
We appreciate you being.
Thank you. See you soon.
I'll
see you.
All right, that's our first
time hearing from Josh Harris.
He's kind of been in the backgrd
throughout this whole process,
the new owner of the
Washington Commanders there.
And you know what stood out to ?
He says a new era of
Washington football is here.
And he really touched on improvg
the fan experience, getting thrh
to the fans first and foremost.
Yeah, a lot of key takeaways.
They're also talking about whate
feels is the level of responsibility.
Taking over this franchise,
improving the brand,
improving the fan experience and making it
a more welcoming franchise for everyone.
And then there was the subtlenes
of his opening.
Statements talking about RFK
and reliving the glory days of
walking down East Capitol Stree,
people asking questions about
that because we know a stadium
deal is going to be one thing
that he's going to have to deal
with here in the next year or s.
Yeah, it's a lot to figure out.
All right.
So we want to know,
what are you most looking forwad
to under this new ownership?
Yeah,
we want to share these thoughts
with with you and we want
you to share them with us.
Use the #WSA Nine to share your
thoughts with us on social medi.
So then we can there shut
them back on television.
You can also text us what you t.
Text us to
202-895-5599.