Commanders Use Brian Robinson's Shooting In Bizarre Response To D.C. Attorney General's 'Special' Announcement
After District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine scheduled a major press conference regarding an ongoing investigation into the Washington Commanders' potential financial violations, the team issued a questionable statement that cited their rookie running back's shooting incident to detract from the A.G.'s announcement.
Because Daniel Snyder's gonna Daniel Snyder.
With Racine's upcoming press conference expected to give the loathed Commanders owner some negative press amid rumors that Snyder is priming the team for sale, a team spokesperson responded by calling out the A.G. and referencing RB Brian Robinson's shooting incident from August — seemingly as a distraction from Racine's investigation.
The Commanders' response said:
"Less than three months ago, a 23-year-old player on our team was shot multiple times, in broad daylight. Despite the out-of-control violent crime in D.C., today the Washington Commanders learned for the first time on Twitter that the D.C. Attorney General will be holding a press conference to 'make a major announcement related to the organization tomorrow ."
"The Commanders have fully cooperated with the AG's investigation for nearly a year. As recently as Monday, a lawyer for the team met with the AG who did not suggest at that time that he intended to take any action and, in fact, revealed fundamental misunderstandings of the underlying facts.
"It is unfortunate that, in his final days in office, Mr. Racine appears more interested in making splashy headlines, based on offbeat legal theories, rather than doing the hard work of making the streets safe for our citizens, including bringing to justice the people who shot one of our players."
Robinson's agent, Ryan Williams, took issue with the team leaning on the player's shooting incident, saying the team completely mishandled it with the statement. Robinson's incident resulted in two non-life-threatening bullet wounds.
"Up until an hour ago, the Commanders handled the Brian Robinson situation with so much care, sincerity and class," Williams tweeted. "And I was so grateful for all of it. Although I know that there are some great humans in that building, whoever is hiding behind this statement is not one of them."
Washington Commanders President Jason Wright released a statement supporting Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert Contee's investigation of Robinson's shooting after his agent delivered the comments.
The statement read:
"I just spoke to Chief Contee, conveying how much we support the work of MPD, as well as public safety leaders and elected officials working to reduce gun violence and crime across the region. The earlier statement expressed our external counsel's ongoing frustration with the Attorney General's office, as they have been nothing but earnest and transparent in their communications with his team.
"The lawyers' legitimate frustrations with the AG should have been separate and apart from referencing the terrible crime that affected our player."
Stay tuned with OutKick as the story develops