Washington received an F for its treatment of player families, a D+ for its nutritional offerings, a C+ for its weight room, an F- for its athletic training room, a D for its athletic training staff, and a F- for his locker room. and travel operations.
“The dressing room lacks confidence that club owner Dan Snyder is ready to invest in upgrading the facilities as the players rank him 31st in this category,” the commanders’ report read.
The team trains at its headquarters in Ashburn, Virginia, which opened in August 1992. FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland opened in 1997 and over the years has undergone complaints from fans and players due to his condition and safety concerns. .
Commanders earned an A+ for their strength and conditioning staff, led by Chad Englehart. Every Washington player who responded said they received an individual strength coach plan, and 93% said the team had enough strength and conditioning coaches. Washington employs three assistants under Englehart, two of whom have a dual specialty in nutrition or player performance, as well as a director of player performance. Still missing, according to the players: the size of the weight room.
Commanders ranked 18th among teams for their food service. They provide all three meals to players, unlike three teams who don’t provide dinner. But only 59% of Washington players who responded said they felt there was enough room in the team cafeteria.
The Commanders Athletic Training Room received one of the lowest ratings in the league. The majority of Washington players who participated said they felt they did not have enough athletic trainers or physical therapists, and many reported a lack of space in hot and cold baths.
Perhaps more worrying: “Many players said they didn’t want to do their rehabilitation here,” according to the report.
Washington was without a head athletic trainer for much of the 2021 season after placing Ryan Vermillion on administrative leave due to a federal investigation. To fill the void that year, the team relied on his assistants, some summer interns and the volunteer help of former director of sports medicine Bubba Tyer and former Capitals athletic trainer of Washington Greg Smith.
The Commanders hired Al Bellamy as their head athletic trainer in April 2022 and now have three assistant athletic trainers as well as a full-time director of rehabilitation/physiotherapist and clinical psychologist.
Washington’s locker room received the worst rating in the league. Players reported insufficient space, lack of hot water and poor drainage in the showers. They also said space was tight on the team’s flights, which contributed to the team’s worst travel rating.
Washington is one of six teams that require young players to share rooms on road trips.
“The health and safety of players is our top priority, and we continue to invest in our facilities, including a new training ground, new grass in the training bubble and increased meeting room space” , said a spokesperson for the commanders in response to the results of the investigation. “We know there’s still a lot to do and we regularly talk to our players about ways to improve their work environment and the experience for their families.”
The Minnesota Vikings and Miami Dolphins received A grades in all areas from players and rank among the best teams in the league. The Las Vegas Raiders were not far behind; their lowest grade was a B+, for athletic training staff.
Some of the most successful teams in 2022 would have some of the worst working conditions. The Kansas City Chiefs ranked 29th and received the league’s lowest rating for their athletic coaching staff. The Cincinnati Bengals ranked 27th and had an F grade for their nutritional offerings. They were the only team reported not to provide supplements to players.
The Houston Texans, who finished the season 3-13-1, ranked fourth in the player survey and placed in the top 10 in every category.
The NFLPA said the basis of the investigation was not, at least initially, to take action unless it was demonstrably warranted.
“I don’t think going forward our plan was to make demands of each individual team,” NFLPA president and former offensive lineman JC Tretter said. “…I think what they do of their own free will is going to matter a lot.”
Tretter said the union’s hope was not to shame owners or teams, but rather to urge lagging teams to improve and highlight teams whose players have reported environments. pleasant.
“I think some [owners] are probably shameless at this point,” Tretter said. “You’re not going to tug on their heartstrings or convince them to do the right thing. I think that time has come and gone. But I think there will be some who will read [the survey]and if [they take it personally] or if [they say], ‘I was not aware of this; it’s not fair, it’s not right,” I mean, there’s some really basic stuff where it’s like it shouldn’t happen.
NFL Vice President Jeff Miller issued a statement after the results of the investigation were released, saying the league “[looks] look forward to reviewing the data.
“On Monday, at joint NFL and NFLPA meetings in Indianapolis, we discussed the process by which we would conduct the next comprehensive player survey to continue working together to improve the player experience at football clubs. the NFL,” Miller said in the statement.
The collective agreement calls for the league and union to establish a responsibility and care committee to advise on medical care and rehabilitation services for players and to conduct a player survey at least once every three years. on the teams’ medical and training staff.