Commanders Exec Claimed Black Players Are “Homophobic”
NFL football team's former VP of content allegedly made disparaging comments about players, fans, and the league's social justice initiatives.
Rael Enteen, the Vice President of Content for the Washington Commanders, was secretly filmed during a date with an undercover reporter, during which he made racially-tinged comments about the team’s players, its fans, hip-hop music, and the franchise’s social justice initiatives.
The offending comments were later posted online and reported by news outlets, including the UK-based Daily Mail, and Enteen has reportedly been fired.
The reporter was affiliated with O’Keefe Media, a right-wing organization that purports to uncover malfeasance, corruption, and liberal ideology among prominent individuals, executives, and government workers.
They do this both through “citizen journalism” and what they call the “American Swiper” program, in which undercover reporters pursue individuals using dating apps, posing as potential romantic partners, to record them commenting on potentially controversial or hotly-contested political topics.
Enteen, who had worked for the Commanders for four years, told the undercover reporter that “a big chunk” of the team’s roster “is very low-income African-Americans that comes from a community that is inherently very homophobic.”
He claimed that hip-hop music was “homophobic,” adding, “It’s a cultural thing that I hope gets better.”
Enteen claimed that 50% of the Commanders’ roster is white and religious, suggesting they are also homophobic due to religious beliefs opposing homosexuality.
About one-fourth of the Commanders’ roster is white, and it is unknown whether any of them — let alone all of them — hold anti-LGBTQ beliefs.
Beyond his accusations of alleged homophobia, Enteen claimed that many of the Commanders’ players were “dumb,” and appeared to imply that head injuries suffered during play may lead to the deterioration of their mental faculties.
That is a particularly controversial remark, given the National Football League’s struggles with CTE, a progressive degenerative disease that affects people who have suffered repeated concussions or traumatic brain injuries.
“There’s obviously a spectrum,” he told his “date.” “There’s some [players] that are dumb as all hell and there are others that are very smart. I think there’s also a real sad but true reality that some start smart and they get hit in the head so much that they don’t stay smart.”
Enteen attacked NFL fans, calling them “mouth breathers” and characterizing them as “violent,” pointing to incidents where fans have engaged in brawls in the stands at games.
“Most of the NFL fans, I would say, are high school-educated alcoholics,” he said.
Enteen slammed the NFL’s social justice initiatives, such as the league’s commitment to uplifting Black communities, its support for pro-LGBTQ initiatives or Pride events, and its diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, policies, as “performative” and an attempt to generate good publicity.
“It’s to make as much money as possible,” he said.
Enteen denounced Roger Goodell as a “$50 million puppet,” suggesting that the NFL Commissioner is controlled by team owners — particularly Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who he claims is really orchestrating Goodell’s actions.
Yet he also alleged that Jones has racist and homophobic biases, saying, “I think he hates gay people and Black people.”
After the video of Enteen’s comments went public, the Commanders suspended him pending an internal investigation but have since fired him.
The Commanders also stated that “the language used in the video runs counter to our values.”
The controversy comes a year after the franchise was sold by Dan Snyder, whose more than two decades as owner were marked by ongoing battles with fellow NFL executives, minority groups, local government officials, the media, and fans disappointed by his managerial decisions.
The team cycled through 27 different starting quarterbacks, and 10 head coaches during Snyder’s tenure, often placing third or fourth in their own division and getting shut out of the postseason.
Off the field, the team also faced frequent criticism from liberals over its former name, the Redskins, which they argued was racially insensitive. Snyder, for years, resisted the name change, although it was eventually dropped in 2020 following heightened scrutiny around social justice issues, including racism, stemming from the killing of George Floyd.
Snyder was also fined $60 million after the NFL alleged he sexually harassed employees and hid millions of dollars in revenue from other teams.
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