Washington Football Team

Ex-NFL star LaVar Arrington says it was a "bitch move" for Robert Griffin III to write a book about the alleged sexual harassment he dealt with while the QB was at Washington ... saying the Baylor star shouldn't have waited years to disclose what went down.

43-year-old Arrington made the controversial comment on his "Two Pros And A Cup Of Joe" podcast, saying ... "So, RGIII, with all due respect, it’s kind of a bitch move to say you’re going to do a tell-all now," the former #2 overall pick said.

"Why didn’t you do your tell-all three or four years ago?"

If you're not familiar with RG3's allegations, we previously reported the QB announced he wrote a book called "Surviving Washington" ... that's releasing next year.

"I'm gonna detail the medical mismanagement that I received during my time in Washington," Robert said on social media while asking fans to preorder the book.

"I'm gonna open your eyes to the sexual harassment that permeated the walls of that building and give you a deep dive into a power struggle between one of the most powerful coaches in all of sports and an owner who many of you want gone."

But, Arrington -- who played for WFT from 2000 to 2005 -- believes the team's past scandals have made it easy for Griffin III to put the team on blast.

"You were scared of backlash that you would receive saying what you believed your truth was in a time where you didn’t have all of the stuff that has come out with the cheerleaders, and the emails, and all this stuff that makes it safe for you to be a front-runner of justice."

Arrington added, "I hate when dudes do bitch moves to be heroes and heroic about the things that they're doing and you do it in the comfort of knowing people already know what's going on."

"Stand up and be a man! Do that 'S' before now."

And, LaVar wasn't alone ... 'cause fellow former WTF player, CB Fred Smoot also went off on Robert.

"Sensitive thugs need a hug and RGIII is one of these sensitive thugs who needs a hug," Smoot told the guys.

"Then he said, ‘I’m going to tell everybody how I got sexually harassed.' The ugliest quarterback of all time?! Yes, I said it. He ain't attractive."

"Bobby failed at his career in the NFL, let’s be honest. Now he wants to bring attention to himself by any means necessary, and that’s why he wrote this book."

Robert Griffin III says he was the victim of sexual harassment while a member of Washington's NFL team ... and the former Pro Bowl quarterback says he will expose the organization in an upcoming book.

The 31-year-old free agent signal-caller announced Surviving Washington will be dropping next year ... and promised to shed light on what he calls "one of the most dysfunctional franchises in all of sports."

Washington drafted Griffin with the 2nd overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. He played in D.C. until 2016 ... making the Pro Bowl during his rookie year.

During his time in the nation's capital, Griffin claims the organization was a crap storm, and he's ready to expose the people who allegedly wronged him.

"I'm gonna detail the medical mismanagement that I received during my time in Washington," Robert said on social media while asking fans to preorder the book.

"I'm gonna open your eyes to the sexual harassment that permeated the walls of that building and give you a deep dive into a power struggle between one of the most powerful coaches in all of sports and an owner who many of you want gone."

FYI, Mike Shanahan was Washington's head coach when RG3 was drafted.

Griffin isn't the first former Washington team employee to claim sexual harassment. Last year at least 15 ex-workers alleged they were treated inappropriately on the job.

The league investigated and ultimately fined WFT $10 million ... a record-setting amount.

Patrick Mahomes' brother says he meant "absolutely no disrespect" by dancing on a Sean Taylor memorial Sunday ... explaining the whole thing was a complete misunderstanding.

Jackson Mahomes -- who's gained fame over the last two years for his TikToks -- recorded himself stepping on a swath of grass at FedExField that had been spray painted to honor Taylor.

The moves -- set to a popular song -- were seen as wildly inappropriate ... given that the Washington Football Team had chained off the area in order to recognize Taylor, who was having his number 21 retired 14 years after his tragic death.

Fans blasted the younger Mahomes on social media ... with others noting that he and Patrick's fiancee, Brittany Matthews, had even been standing on the logo prior to the dancing.

Jackson issued an apology hours after the Chiefs left the stadium with a win, deleting the TikTok and saying WFT officials had actually "directed" him to be there.

"I want to sincerely apologize for accidentally being on the Sean Taylor #21 at FedEx Field," Jackson said. "We were directed to stand in that area and I meant absolutely no disrespect to him or his family."

This is not the first time Jackson has created a headline at a Chiefs game this season ... just a few weeks ago, he doused a trash-talking Ravens fan with water.

Patrick said after that incident he was hopeful his brother would "learn from it."

The NFL's General Counsel Jeff Pash & then-Washington Football Team Prez Bruce Allen took a cheap shot at NFL players -- claiming almost none of them bother to vote.

Allen fired off the diss to his buddy Pash in an email TMZ Sports has obtained. Sources confirm the email exchange is among the more than 650,000 emails presented to the league during its 2020 investigation of the WFT organization -- and it says a lot about how the 2 high-ranking league officials felt about players.

In the 2018 email, Allen says, "I just got a phone call reminding me to vote in the Virginia primary before 7pm today (which I'm going to do). If NFL rules permitted NFL employees to gamble, I would bet $20.00 that less than 1% of NFL players voted in primaries this year."

Pash, who's been described as Commissioner Roger Goodell's right-hand man, replied, "Maybe even take the under" ... meaning, he'd bet even less than 1% of players votes.

Couple things to keep in mind -- this was the summer of 2018, less than 2 years after Colin Kaepernick and several other players were kneeling during the National Anthem to stand against police brutality and social injustice. So, suggesting players weren't interested in politics seems, at the very least, tone-deaf and misguided.

And, here's the bigger point ... according to our sources, the NFL had this email -- and the thousands of others -- more than a year ago, and yet took no action to discipline anyone involved. As you might know, in the wake of Jon Gruden's racist and homophobic emails (sent to Allen, BTW) ... there are calls for Goodell to release all of the emails. As of now, he has not.

The fact the league's own lead attorney and a team exec are on the record making distasteful remarks about players certainly isn't a good look -- and, perhaps, speaks to why the league's sitting on that mountain of emails.

The Washington Football Team is celebrating head coach Ron Rivera's one-year anniversary of being cancer free ... by making a big donation to St. Jude's in his honor!!

The team recognized the coach's one-year biopsy coming back negative with an incredibly emotional tribute this week ... featuring a video, donation and a helmet decal that players will wear on the field this weekend.

The best part?? Star players Terry McLaurin, Chase Young, and Jonathan Allen were shown in the clip applauding their coach’s perseverance since his initial diagnosis.

Remember, Rivera revealed he had squamous cell cancer in one of his lymph nodes in August 2020 ... but despite his health battle, coach still managed to be present for his team.

In fact, he led the WFT to a 7-9 record, the NFC East crown, and a playoff game against the eventual champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"Riverboat Ron" completed his radiation and chemotherapy treatment last October ... causing an emotional, yet heartfelt moment at the hospital.

The Football Team will honor the 59-year-old by wearing a "Rivera Strong" decal on their helmets ... and making a $25,500 donation to the proton therapy treatments he used to treat his cancer.

Rivera was clearly moved by the honor ... tearing up and sharing a touching message with his team.

Robert Griffin III is open to going back to where it all began -- the current free agent says he'd LOVE to make a big comeback with the Washington Football Team ... but he's not gonna beg.

Of course, RG3 was the #2 overall pick to Washington back in 2012 after a Heisman-winning season with the Baylor Bears ... but things didn't necessarily go according to plan, as the QB faced several injuries throughout his time with the team.

With the injury bug biting the WFT as well in 2021, RG3 -- who hasn't played since 2020 -- was asked if he'd pick up the phone if coach Ron Rivera came calling ... and he sounds more than willing to listen to what he's gotta say.

"Yeah, I mean it could [work out], to be honest," Griffin said to "The Adam Schefter Podcast" on Tuesday. "But, for me to go back to Washington ... that would have to be something that coach Ron Rivera and the team would be open to."

"You never say never, is what I would say," he added. "Would I be open to it? Yeah ... I would love to go back and be able to have that come full circle. But, am I begging for that or pleading for that? Nah ... But, if your guy goes down, make the call."

It just so happens WFT QB Ryan Fitzpatrick is out several weeks with a hip injury ... and Griffin says he's still got that competitive fire in him.

Giants' Darius Slayton ain't the one to blame for missing a crucial wide-open touchdown pass during Thursday night's game, according to O.J. Simpson, who says it was Daniel Jones' fault.

If you missed it, the G-Men were trying to add to their 3 point lead with 6:25 left in the game against the Washington Football Team.

The Giants QB threw a would-be TD pass to a wide-open Slayton ... but it bounced off his fingers. A TD likely would've sealed the game (though, never underestimate the Giants finding a creative way to lose) ... but they didn't score, and ultimately lost (after more mistakes), 30-29.

Fans have been goin' at Slayton for droppin' the pass ... but, Simpson straight-up says they're blaming the wrong guy.

"I heard somebody say Slayton dropped that long pass in the 4th quarter, no! This was simple," Simpson said on Friday.

"Danny Dimes totally missed a guy who was as opened as any wide receiver has ever been open in the history of football."

Simpson also called out Jones for not calling an audible when WFT's safety came up to the hole after the defense read the running play for Saquon Barkley.

"The Giants still ran the ball to that hole," Simpson said about the 3rd quarter play.

"Even the announcer said Saquon had no chance of gaining yards. The defense knew what was coming. Why Danny Dimes didn't audible out of that play, I don't know."

Simpson says if he was Barkley, he would have went off on Jones.

Not that there was a lack of chewing out Jones on the sideline ... newly signed Giants WR Kenny Golladay was seen ripping DJ in the 2nd half.

After the game, Jones said KG was just "frustrated at the situation. We're all good."

With the Giants' loss (0-2) to the WFT (1-1), Simpson says he knows who will win the division ... and it ain't the Cowboys.

A Washington Football Team fan unloaded on a fellow fan in the stands during the team's game against the Chargers on Sunday ... dropping haymaker after haymaker on the poor guy.

In footage of the melee, filmed by someone sitting near the violence, you can see a man in a Clinton Portis jersey began scrapping with another guy in a Sean Taylor uni.

Unclear what started the tilt ... but the man in the Portis jersey quickly got the upper hand -- and never let off the gas pedal until other fans finally intervened.

The clip shows the dude threw roughly 13 punches -- with many of them landing flush on the other man's face.

No word if anyone suffered injuries in the fight ... but we're betting at the very least, they're both pretty damn sore today.

As for the action on the field, the WFT ended up losing to L.A., 20-16 ... so, yeah, tough day all around for these guys.

The Washington Football Team is taking yet another step toward distancing itself from its controversial past ... now banning fans from wearing Native American-inspired headdresses and face paint at its stadium.

The team made the announcement in an email to WFT fans on Wednesday ... explaining the once-popular fan attire will now no longer be accepted at home games.

"We are excited to welcome everyone back wearing their Burgundy & Gold," team officials said in the statement.

"However, Native American inspired ceremonial headdresses or face paint may no longer be worn into the stadium."

The ban should come as a surprise to absolutely nobody ... especially given just last month, the team announced its future nickname would not be the "Warriors" or anything else that could be perceived to be associated with Native American imagery.

"We will choose an identity that unequivocally departs from any use of or approximate linkage to Native American imagery," WFT President Jason Wright said in a July statement.

"As I have said many times before, our new identity should unite us. It should bring us together the way this team comes together on the football field and the way we have seen our Fans come together and proudly support our Team and our DMV community."

No hints have been given yet as to other possible nicknames, though an announcement on a new, permanent name change is expected to come before the 2022 season.

D.C.'s NFL squad will NOT be the Washington "Warriors" in the future ... the Washington Football Team announced Monday it has ruled out the potential name change due to feedback from Native American community members.

WFT President Jason Wright explained it all in a lengthy letter posted to the team's website ... saying the "Warriors" nickname -- which many fans have advocated for going forward -- simply did not distance the team enough from its former identity.

"Feedback from across communities we engaged clearly revealed deep-seated discomfort around Warriors, with the clear acknowledgment that it too closely aligns with Native American themes," Wright said.

"Such an embrace of potentially Native-adjacent iconography and imagery would not represent a clear departure that many communities have so forcefully advocated for us to embrace, and that frankly, we set out to do when we started this process a year ago."

Wright didn't say what other monikers have been axed from contention ... adding only, "We will choose an identity that unequivocally departs from any use of or approximate linkage to Native American imagery."

"As I have said many times before, our new identity should unite us," Wright said. "It should bring us together the way this team comes together on the football field and the way we have seen our Fans come together and proudly support our Team and our DMV community."

The Washington Football Team is getting hammered with a staggering, and record-setting, $10 MILLION fine after the NFL wrapped up its sexual misconduct investigation of the organization ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The punishment was determined and handed down Thursday after the league investigated claims that high-ranking figures within the team sexually harassed and verbally abused female employees repeatedly and rampantly over the last decade.

At least 15 women came forward with the allegations last year ... saying the NFL's team workplace was toxic and demeaning toward females.

In a bombshell 2020 Washington Post report, one of the women -- former marketing coordinator Emily Applegate -- said she was told to wear revealing clothes "so the men in the room have something to look at."

Another woman -- who wished to remain anonymous, according to the report -- alleged men in the team's football facility would stand at the base of a staircase near the entrance in order to stare up women's skirts.

The league's fine of the team is historic -- it's the largest The Shield has EVER slapped on a team or individual.

Worth noting, the WFT and its owner, Dan Snyder, just announced sweeping and progressive changes to the organization ... including naming Snyder's wife, Tanya, the new co-CEO. Other changes, some put in motion 18 months ago, include changing the cheerleading squad to a co-ed dance team and installing a more racially diverse front office.

Snyder, who was not personally fined by the league, says ... "I feel great remorse for the people who had difficult, even traumatic experiences while working here. I'm truly sorry for that."

"I can't turn back the clock, but I promise that nobody who works here will ever have that kind of experience again, at least not as long as Tanya and I are owners of this team."

The Washington Football Team is taking player mental health seriously ... hiring the organization's first full-time Director of Wellness to "proactively work on [the players'] mental wellbeing."

The team announced Monday the hiring of Dr. Barbara Roberts -- a full-time clinician with a Ph.D. in psychology who has previously served in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy as a Senior Policy Analyst and Coordinator for Health Policy.

Dr. Roberts "brings an extensive history of experience with professional athletes and looks forward to this opportunity to enhance the NFL Total Wellness mission," the team said in a statement.

According to the WFT, Dr. Roberts is tasked with brining a "proactive approach to handling mental health ... focusing on the development of a foundation for mental wellness and its impact on overall health and performance."

Her program will include "daily mental wellness work and will allow players to proactively work on their mental wellbeing."

Dr. Roberts commented on the new gig -- saying, "I look forward to this opportunity to enhance the NFL Total Wellness mission."

Move over, Jerry World ... Dan Snyder says he's in the process of building his own massive palace for his Washington Football Team -- telling TMZ Sports he expects to have it all done by 2027!!!

The WFT owner was in Los Angeles this week scoping out SoFi Stadium to draw inspiration for the new project ... and he explained to us he's got "big plans" for the building.

The logistics, though, are still murky ... Snyder says they don't have a tentative location or any sort of blueprints yet -- but he and WFT President Jason Wright said they're fired up for it all regardless.

"We're touring stadiums," Snyder said. "We're coming West Coast and touring. There's about 12 of us and we're just looking to build a new venue back home in D.C., Virginia, Maryland."

"So, we're everywhere. Jason, our whole group, 12 of us, we're having some fun and looking at the future."

Snyder says the stadium tour will take them all the way to Europe too ... explaining they hope to get all kinds of ideas for the new "state of the art" facility in the D.C. area.

"We're taking inspiration from everywhere," Wright said. "Because if we're going to do something that our fans really deserve -- which is cutting edge and innovative -- we're going to take in all the ideas. So, we're absorbing."

As for if the team will have a new name by the time the stadium opens ... both Wright and Snyder said they weren't sure of that -- but insisted the search for a permanent moniker is going well.

Amazing update from NFL QB Kyle Allen ... the Washington Football Team player is now moving laterally and jogging -- just 6 months after he suffered a gruesome ankle injury.

Allen's foot was dangling by threads during an NFL game last November ... but now, the dude looks as close to 100 percent as ever, showing off a sturdy ankle and some speed.

In the footage, shared by Allen's girlfriend, the 25-year-old can be seen hopping from side to side ... and then getting in full-length runs up and down a basketball court.

"So freaking proud of you," said Allen's GF, Summer Juraszek. "I screamed when I first saw these progress videos."

You'll recall ... Allen wasn't exactly guaranteed to ever walk again after suffering a horrific lower leg injury against the Giants on Nov. 8, 2020.

NY safety Jabrill Peppers had tackled the QB low as he attempted to escape the pocket ... and Allen was later diagnosed with a dislocated and fractured ankle.

According to his GF, Allen didn't even begin walking on the leg until January 2021 ... so, this week's steps are clearly HUGE for the guy.

The NFC East could come down to the Dallas Cowboys vs. the Washington Demon Cats in 2022???

It's true ... 'cause the Washington Football Team is now putting out feelers to fans regarding potential new monikers, and one of the squad names it's floating includes the "Demon Cats."

It's unclear why -- D.C. has never been known for its demons or its cats -- but it's one of at least 30 names WFT officials sent out to season ticket holders to evaluate this week.

Some of the others that don't make a whole lot of sense? Aces, Belters, Brigade and Rising.

There were some pretty cool ones, though ... WFT -- which ditched its old team name due to its racist ties last year -- also asked fans to weigh in on names like Redtails, Red Hogs and Washington DC Football Club (DCFC).

The list was NOT meant to be a new team name vote, according to WFT execs ... but rather a way for the org. to get a feel for what names were important to its fan base.

WFT officials have said they'd like to have a new nickname in place for 2022. And, they've reiterated multiple times they could just stick with WFT.

Here's the rest of some of the reported monikers WFT fans got a peek at this week:

Aces
Ambassadors
Anchors
Archers
Armada
Aviators
Beacons
Belters
Brigade
Commanders
Defenders
Demon Cats
First City Football Club (FCFC)
Griffins
Guardians
Icons
Majors
Monarchs
Pilots
Presidents
Razorbacks
Redtails
Redwolves
Red Hogs
Renegades
Riders
Rising
Royals
Rubies
Swifts
Warriors
Washington DC Football Club (DCFC)
Wayfarers
Wild Hogs
32FC (W32)

Alex Smith's run in D.C. is over ... the QB has officially been released by the Washington Football Team.

Now, the 36-year-old signal-caller with quite possibly the greatest comeback story EVER will try and continue his NFL career somewhere else.

Remember, Smith suffered a catastrophic injury to his right leg in 2018 -- a spiral and compound fracture to his tibia and fibula -- when he was sacked during a game against the Houston Texans.

The injury was so bad, Smith ultimately needed 17 operations to repair the damage -- and at one point, doctors seriously considered amputating the limb at the knee!

Smith missed the entire 2019 season -- but trained his ass off ... and ultimately returned to the field in 2020.

Miraculously, Smith got the green light from his doctors to resume football activities in July 2020 -- and was activated in August 2020.

Smith served as a backup for most of the season -- but when the starters all went down ... he stepped up and led the WFT in an unlikely Week 13 victory against the then-undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers!

Overall, Smith was 5-1 in games he started in 2020 -- and was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

His wife also commissioned an artist to turn his knee brace into a piece that resembled the Lombardi Trophy to commemorate his comeback.

So, what's next for Alex Smith? He reportedly still wants to play ... the question is, will any team make an offer??

Hey, he's defied the odds before ...