Commanders suspends employees for derogatory comments about players, fans and Roger Goodell

The Washington Commanders suspended an employee after a video on social media showed him making derogatory remarks about players, fans and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Rael Enteen, vice president of content at Commanders, said in the video posted by O’Keefe Media Group that some players are stupid and homophobic. O’Keefe Media Group said the videos were recorded by an undercover journalist on two dates after the journalist was matched with Enteen through a dating app. The journalist was not named but can be heard on the video.

In the video, Enteen says, “Over 50 percent of our membership is white religious people and God says, ‘Fuck the gays.’ Your interpretation. I don’t believe any of it. Another large portion are low-income African-Americans who come from a community that is inherently very homophobic.”

Shortly after the video was released, the Commanders released a statement condemning Enteen’s words, saying, “The language used in the video contradicts our values ​​at the Commanders.” The statement said the Commanders had suspended Enteen pending an internal investigation into the matter.

Founded by James O’Keefe, O’Keefe Media Group states on its website that it uses “citizen journalists” with the support of an in-house team of journalists to create content. O’Keefe, a political activist, was the founder of Project Veritas before leaving the company in February 2023. Project Veritas is known for using deceptive techniques to secretly record videos and has been accused in the past of deceptively editing videos.

Enteen worked for Washington for four years after spending two years with the New York Jets.

In the video, Enteen referred to football fans as “high school graduate alcoholics” and “mouth breathers.”

Enteen also said in the video that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones “really runs the NFL. I think he hates gays and blacks.” He called Goodell “a $50 million puppet” and said the NFL’s social justice efforts are just a joke.

Speaking about his job, Enteen mentioned a 2021 incident when pipes leaked during a game at FedEx Field and fans complained that it smelled like sewage. He said he had to tweet on behalf of the team that the leaks were just water, calling the tweet “state-run media.”

(Photo: Brett Davis / USA Today)