Commanders prize check for raffle-winning fan bounces, leads to wild saga

As if the Washington Commanders and Dan Snyder needed another reason to be a punchline, not being able to pay a raffle winner is an all-time blunder.

A winning record, a quarterback who can make good decisions, or a disciplined team that avoids penalties every other snap could never erase the abject institutional failures that Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder has overseen.

Nothing on the football field should make anyone overlook the horrendous workplace culture that he allowed to take root in his NFL franchise. The organization could be accurately termed a dumpster fire. But that’s probably not fair to dumpster fires.

If the team was winning, then at least fans might be able to swallow some of Snyder’s less heinous managerial calamities — like neglecting FedEx Field, now considered the worst in the league, or digging in on an offensive mascot and then overseeing the unpopular process to choose a new name. But as the Commanders continue to lose, these blunders are amplified.

Commanders check to raffle winner bounces in embarrassing blunder

At the Jaguars game earlier this season, a Commanders season ticketholder Drew Shipley won $14,000 from the 50/50 raffle. Not only did he see a rare win, but also he won quite the seat upgrade for next season. But when he went to deposit the check, it didn’t clear. Yes, you read that correctly.

The check bounced, much like the Flint Tropics in Semi-Pro. But that was fiction. The Commanders, unfortunately, are reality. The PR team described it as a banking error and eventually paid Shipley the raffle winnings.

This incident is just one of many, in a long list confirming how Snyder ran this team into the ground. Post-9/11 ticket security fees or suing season ticketholders after the 2008 recession are still perhaps his worst business decisions. It’s truly a masterclass in how not to run a sports and entertainment business.

Talk of selling the team has become more prevalent in recent years, despite Snyder threatening other owners with alleged “dirt” that he’s collected through the years. But Colts’ owner Jim Irsay publicly stated that removing Snyder had “merit.” So while no DC fans are getting their hopes up, perhaps new ownership is on the horizon.