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Commanders owner apologizes over TV dispute involving cheerleader
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
It was the sort of feel-good story that local television loves.
A Marine lieutenant calls his hometown station, saying he is coming home early from a combat tour of Iraq and Afghanistan and wants to surprise his wife -- with the cameras rolling.
But because Lt. Denver Edick's wife is a cheerleader for the Washington Commanders, the easy score turned into a turf battle in which ABC, the network that pitched the idea, wound up barred from FedEx Field, while the team handed the ball to the NBC station in town, which happens to be its broadcast partner.
And the Commanders formed a defensive line against any other coverage. A news executive involved in the discussions says a Commanders official told him that if Kristin Edick talked to anyone from WJLA, the ABC affiliate, she would be dismissed from her cheerleader's job.
"To threaten to fire his wife -- that is objectionable on so many levels that I couldn't even count them," said Bill Lord, station manager at WJLA (Channel 7). "When we go to the PR department at any company and ask to do a story, the last thing you expect is that they'll take the story and give it to a competitor. That is just flat wrong. I'm always going to think that's unethical. It was hijacked."
The team denies that the director of its cheerleading squad spoke of firing Kristin Edick. In a letter to Lord on Tuesday, Commanders owner Daniel Snyder offered a "personal apology" for the exclusion of WJLA.
"I do regret actions taken by our representatives that prevented your news organization from being able to report on the surprise early return of Lt. Denver Edick and his reunion with his wife Kristin, one of our cheerleaders," Snyder wrote. He said he is "making many changes in personnel and policy" that he hopes will ensure "that the Commanders are respectful and fair to the journalists that are covering our team." (Karl Swanson, senior vice president for public relations, resigned Monday but his departure had been in the works before this controversy.)
Lord said he welcomed Snyder's letter and wants to "rebuild the relationship," but "I also think he ought to apologize to the lieutenant and his wife" for the pressure applied on them.
David Donovan, the Commanders' chief operating officer, said Edick initially contacted the team, which learned later about WJLA's involvement and alerted WRC (Channel 4), the NBC station in Washington. "There have been times when our broadcast partners are afforded exclusive opportunities, but this should not have been one of them... Apparently, this was an over-exuberant attempt to support one of our partners," Donovan said in an e-mail.
Edick, in full-dress uniform, surprised his wife Thursday evening at FedEx Field, where the cheerleaders were conveniently practicing. "My legs turned to Jell-O," Kristin Edick told WRC after jumping up to embrace her husband. WRC aired the story that night, and the Commanders' official blog featured the video as well, saying: "Not really much to add to this one besides Awwwwww."
Edick said from Quantico, where he is now based, that he was pleased by the story but troubled by the dispute that developed. "I hope none of this will get me or my wife in trouble," he said. "The Commanders were absolutely awesome in everything they did."
WRC spokesman Matt Glassman said in a statement: "We went to FedEx Field to cover a story. We did not request that it be exclusive and have no knowledge why another station was denied access." He declined to comment further.
Commanders owner apologizes over TV dispute involving cheerleader
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
It was the sort of feel-good story that local television loves.
A Marine lieutenant calls his hometown station, saying he is coming home early from a combat tour of Iraq and Afghanistan and wants to surprise his wife -- with the cameras rolling.
But because Lt. Denver Edick's wife is a cheerleader for the Washington Commanders, the easy score turned into a turf battle in which ABC, the network that pitched the idea, wound up barred from FedEx Field, while the team handed the ball to the NBC station in town, which happens to be its broadcast partner.
And the Commanders formed a defensive line against any other coverage. A news executive involved in the discussions says a Commanders official told him that if Kristin Edick talked to anyone from WJLA, the ABC affiliate, she would be dismissed from her cheerleader's job.
"To threaten to fire his wife -- that is objectionable on so many levels that I couldn't even count them," said Bill Lord, station manager at WJLA (Channel 7). "When we go to the PR department at any company and ask to do a story, the last thing you expect is that they'll take the story and give it to a competitor. That is just flat wrong. I'm always going to think that's unethical. It was hijacked."
The team denies that the director of its cheerleading squad spoke of firing Kristin Edick. In a letter to Lord on Tuesday, Commanders owner Daniel Snyder offered a "personal apology" for the exclusion of WJLA.
"I do regret actions taken by our representatives that prevented your news organization from being able to report on the surprise early return of Lt. Denver Edick and his reunion with his wife Kristin, one of our cheerleaders," Snyder wrote. He said he is "making many changes in personnel and policy" that he hopes will ensure "that the Commanders are respectful and fair to the journalists that are covering our team." (Karl Swanson, senior vice president for public relations, resigned Monday but his departure had been in the works before this controversy.)
Lord said he welcomed Snyder's letter and wants to "rebuild the relationship," but "I also think he ought to apologize to the lieutenant and his wife" for the pressure applied on them.
David Donovan, the Commanders' chief operating officer, said Edick initially contacted the team, which learned later about WJLA's involvement and alerted WRC (Channel 4), the NBC station in Washington. "There have been times when our broadcast partners are afforded exclusive opportunities, but this should not have been one of them... Apparently, this was an over-exuberant attempt to support one of our partners," Donovan said in an e-mail.
Edick, in full-dress uniform, surprised his wife Thursday evening at FedEx Field, where the cheerleaders were conveniently practicing. "My legs turned to Jell-O," Kristin Edick told WRC after jumping up to embrace her husband. WRC aired the story that night, and the Commanders' official blog featured the video as well, saying: "Not really much to add to this one besides Awwwwww."
Edick said from Quantico, where he is now based, that he was pleased by the story but troubled by the dispute that developed. "I hope none of this will get me or my wife in trouble," he said. "The Commanders were absolutely awesome in everything they did."
WRC spokesman Matt Glassman said in a statement: "We went to FedEx Field to cover a story. We did not request that it be exclusive and have no knowledge why another station was denied access." He declined to comment further.
