Thom Loverro
Columns by Thom Loverro
LOVERRO: Congressional probe is the Commanders’ Super Bowl
Washington fans have realized their pain is not on the field. It is at the top of the rotten food chain of the Commanders, where Dan Snyder has ruled, exile or not. Published February 14, 2022
LOVERRO: Goodell is big on promises, short on delivery
Roger Goodell's time running the NFL has been a reign that reeks of hypocrisy -- particularly when Goodell is forced to address the sins of the league when it comes to the treatment of minorities and women. But the stench has been perfumed by the $15 billion in annual revenue and high ratings in the barren wasteland of network television. Published February 10, 2022
LOVERRO: Using Everett’s deadly crash as excuse for team was tone-deaf low point for Rivera
After the Dec. 23 car crash involving Washington Commanders safety Deshazor Everett that claimed the life of his passenger, 29-year-old Olivia Peters, on a Loudoun County road, coach Ron Rivera responded soberly when asked about the accident. If only he'd stopped there. Published February 9, 2022
LOVERRO: NFL’s ‘investigation’ of Washington was a sham from the start
Last week, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform held a roundtable with some former employees of the local NFL franchise, now known as the Washington Commanders, and before that, the Washington Football Team (and before that, the Washington Redskins). When the roundtable was over, the list of embarrassing allegations against owner Dan Snyder and his organization was longer than the line of Commanders fans looking to get new gear at Ghost Town Field. Published February 8, 2022
LOVERRO: Indian advocates suggest new use for Washington’s discarded helmet logo
The Washington Football Team -- now the Washington Commanders -- certainly has no more use for its old Redskins Indian head helmet logo. So Donald Wetzel is asking the team to give the trademarked symbol -- a striking and dignified design that his Indian grandfather helped create -- back to the people it was intended to honor. Published February 2, 2022
LOVERRO: This franchise by any other name is still dogged by its past
No matter what the franchise's new alias, people want answers. Published January 31, 2022
LOVERRO: A generation learns the truth with Bonds, Clemens left out of Hall of Fame
The Cheated Generation finally got handed the check Tuesday. Their heroes, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, were passed over by baseball writers for the National Baseball Hall of Fame for the 10th and final time -- and it was like that moment when the mark realizes he's just been scammed: Pain. Anger. Lingering disbelief and delusion. Published January 26, 2022
LOVERRO: Nationals heavily invest internationally in a future with or without Soto
Washington made a big splash last week doing international business, landing one of the prize young free agents and one of the top prospects in the pool -- Cuban outfielder Cristhian Vaquero, who came to the Dominican Republic in 2020. Published January 17, 2022
LOVERRO: Rivera has the wheel, but the road looks the same
Before the distance grows too far from the 2021 Washington Football season and people say nice things about it -- character, right direction, all the words we've heard before at so many other season closures -- let's do an inventory. Published January 10, 2022
LOVERRO: FedEx is falling apart, but Snyder is trapped in rubble of his own making
The Eagles fans who toppled through a railing at FedEx on Sunday should have finished the job and torn down the rest of the stadium. Washington Football Team fans would have probably helped them. Published January 3, 2022
LOVERRO: Madden connected with all of humanity
John Madden, who passed away Tuesday at the age of 85, didn't just love life. He loved lives. Published December 29, 2021
LOVERRO: Don’t expect to find any soul-searching with this Washington franchise
You might have been able to stir up some sympathy if they were a sympathetic lot. But this franchise is a magnet for scorn and ridicule, from the half-empty seats in Landover to the "we-bought-custom-benches-too" sidelines in Dallas to the squalid corridors of the headquarters in Ashburn. All of it earned. Published December 27, 2021
LOVERRO: Playing goofy mind games in Philly when they should have been playing some defense
It's not the benches that matter. It's the butts that make use of those benches. Published December 22, 2021
LOVERRO: McLaurin’s brain injury is real and it’s serious. So why does it seem like an afterthought?
"Concussion" has become an almost meaningless word. Players have a "concussion" they enter "concussion" protocol and eventually they are healed. It's part of doing NFL business. More attention is paid now to COVID-19. But a concussion is a brain injury and should be referred to as such. Published December 20, 2021
LOVERRO: Snyder’s had a lot of bad years, but 2009 — that one left a mark
Chronicling the 22 years that Dan Snyder has owned the Washington Football Team is like detailing the history of some banana republic dictator. Each year by itself stands as evidence of dysfunction and destruction. Published December 16, 2021
LOVERRO: Washington’s David and Goliath tale takes hit from cold reality of NFL
The storybook portion of the season may have run its course. The stadium full of Cowboys fans should have told you that this isn't some sort of fable anymore. The reality is a wrecked Washington franchise under congressional investigation with a 6-7 record hanging on to a hope of squeezing into the playoffs. Published December 13, 2021
LOVERRO: D.C. Divas embrace Jordan’s passion for the game of football
Some of these women may have never heard of LaMont Jordan. Others may have grown up watching him rush for more than 1,000 yards for the Oakland Raiders and catch 70 passes in 2005, the best season of his nine-year NFL career. But they were all fixated on every word Jordan said, recognizing the value of lessons from someone who played the game at the highest level -- maybe even a little star struck. Published December 9, 2021
LOVERRO: Rivera, teammates have growing faith in their own giant-killing David
On Sunday, Goliath was Derek Carr, the Las Vegas Raiders' $125 million quarterback who was leading the NFL in passing before the 17-15 loss to the Washington Football Team. Heinicke tossed a rock right at the Raiders' head, leading his team on the last-minute drive that led to Brian Johnson's 48-yard game-winning field goal. Published December 6, 2021
LOVERRO: RG3’s tell-all may be silver lining to twisted saga
Robert Griffin III -- the architect of both brief times of triumph followed by long stretches of pain -- woke Washington Football Team fans from their dreams with the news he posted on his Twitter account that he will have a book coming out next August. The title? "Surviving Washington." Published December 1, 2021
LOVERRO: Courage to hold China accountable in short supply
Olympics sponsors -- especially those who do business in China with untold riches at stake -- have shown no appetite for pulling out of these Games, despite calls from human rights activists. Published November 29, 2021
