National Football League

Washington's Wright joins SFY

Published Aug. 18, 2020 6:08 p.m. ET

Jason Wright, the Washington Football Team's new president, joined Marcellus Wiley and Emmanuel Acho on FS1's Speak for Yourself on Tuesday to discuss his hiring and his path to revitalizing a struggling Washington franchise.

Wright made history on Monday, becoming the first Black team president and youngest team president in NFL history.

And on Tuesday, Wright tackled the idea that the color of his skin influenced the hiring process.

“If there’s a white brother out there who played 7 years in the NFL, got a top 5 MBA, became a partner at a consulting firm & led businesses through transformations for the last 8 years and I beat him out because I’m black, I apologize.”

Wright, a former running back, spent seven years in the league (2004-2010) with the San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals. He is only the fourth former player to hold the position of president within an NFL franchise.

Wright will be "responsible for leading the organization's business divisions, including operations, finance, sales, and marketing," according to a team press release.

After his NFL career, Wright graduated with an MBA from the University of Chicago and spent the last seven years at the consulting firm McKinsey & Company, where he focused on anti-racism, inclusion and diversity practices in business.

He explained how his experiences as a player and a businessman will mix to inform his decision-making in an NFL front office.

"I keep a set of counselors and mentors around me at all times. They know my values. They know how I want to act. And I think those folks are going to help me find my way in this new role of how those two identities blend together."

Wright joins an organization that has one playoff win since 1999 and has not made it to the postseason since 2015. And in recent months, the franchise has been in the spotlight due to reports of organizational dysfunction and a toxic work environment, and it is currently in the process of rebranding.

Wright said Tuesday that he is ready to take on what lies ahead in Washington.

"I actually think every Chief Executive should be challenged with not necessarily changing the culture, but it might be improving the culture."