Washington's football team, in the midst of a name change and less than a week after a story detailed sexual harassment by former employees, hired Terry Bateman to oversee its business operations. Bateman will have the title of executive vice president and chief marketing officer.
Washington announced on July 6 that it was retiring its former name. A new one is expected to be named before the season, according to sources, though there is no exact timetable for an announcement.
Bateman has long had ties to owner Dan Snyder. He was the president of Snyder Communications' marketing services division from 1994 to '97. He also was Washington's chief marketing officer in 2006. He has worked in a similar role to the one just announced, albeit as a part-time adviser to Snyder and the team, in recent years.
In a statement, the team said Bateman would spearhead the name change and branding efforts along with Snyder. He will also oversee all of the team's marketing activities, sponsor relations, internet and broadcast media operations and overall business strategy.
"I am very excited to be joining the organization at such a critical moment in history," Bateman said in the statement.
Last week, The Washington Post detailed sexual harassment charges against multiple former employees, two of whom were fired after an internal investigation before the story ran. A third retired one day before the story appeared and two others no longer worked for the organization.
Adding Bateman provides coach Ron Rivera someone who can handle the business side while he focuses on coaching. In his first season with the team, he's had to deal with a pandemic, social justice issues, a name change and internal harassment investigations.
"Terry Bateman is a man I trust and have worked with for many years," Snyder said in a statement. "I can't think of a better individual to help spearhead this organization's marketing efforts into this new era."
Bateman called it an opportunity to provide his perspective and expertise as they work to "develop a new era for this proud franchise."
Bateman has been involved in sports, entertainment and media for more than 40 years, having been a CEO at Barton Cotton, Dick Clark Productions and NTN Buzztime.