ESPN’s award-winning prime-time newsmagazine program “E:60” will return Tuesday at 7 p.m. for six weekly episodes.
Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder will be the focus of a profile by the program, and Rachel Nichols scored a rare one-on-one interview with the normally private boss of the Burgundy and Gold.
Snyder is a self-made billionaire, with all the trappings you would expect of the man who succeeded Jack Kent Cooke as owner and built the Redskins into the second most-valuable franchise in the NFL. However, in 11 years since buying the team, Snyder has been a controversial figure. On Monday, I spoke to Nichols about her interview with Snyder.
How did you get Snyder to grant you an interview? » Dan Snyder has done very few interviews during his time as the Redskins owner, so this piece involved a long negotiation process. As he says in the story we’ll air, he’s uncomfortable with the media and feels he’s been burned a lot in the past. He is aware, though, that by not talking publicly very often, he’s left a lot of things open to interpretation, and a lot of misconceptions have formed. I think he reached a point where he wanted to finally clear some things up and let people see more of who he really is.
You are familiar with this area and how Redskins fans either dislike, or perhaps to be more fair, simply don’t understand Snyder. Did you find him as someone who understood the fans’ dismay with the state of the franchise? » Yes, absolutely — that’s one thing you’ll see in our story. He’s as dismayed, or perhaps even more dismayed, than anyone over some of the poor decisions that have been made during his tenure. To say he is a diehard Redskins fan is an understatement. He’s been an enormous fan of this team since he was a little boy and for a long time it was a deep connection he shared with his now deceased father. No matter what you think of Snyder, it’s obvious he cares deeply about winning a Super Bowl — for the fans, for the franchise, for himself, for his father. Any decisions that have taken the team off that course have stuck with him, embarrassed him and still haunt him. I think when fans see that, they’ll be able to respect that and relate to that.
What one thing during your interview surprised you most about Snyder? » He’s really funny. I had no idea. He’s got a quick, sharp sense of humor. And even though going in, I was completely aware of him being 46 years old, it’s striking to sit with him and realize how young he is to have owned an NFL franchise for 12 years.
Examiner columnist Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this! on washingtonexaminer.com.
