WJLA Hosting Virtual Town Hall On Rebranding Washington’s NFL Team

Sinclair-owned ABC affiliate WJLA Washington (DMA 7) announced today it will broadcast its planned third live virtual town hall on race relations with a conversation on the historic announcement to change the franchise team name of the Washington Redskins. The Racial Divide: Time for Change, will air Tuesday, July 14, at 7 p.m. on sister cable channel WJLA 24/7 News, and stream live on wjla.com and Facebook.

WJLA Sports Anchor Scott Abraham, News Anchor Michelle Marsh and news and sports contributor Lou Holder will moderate the one-hour virtual panel discussion with leading sports figures, former NFL players, sports business experts and Native American groups on the impact of this announcement.

Panelists and special guests scheduled to appear:

• Doc Walker, former Washington Redskins player, WTEM-AM Washington host and sideline reporter for The Redskins Radio Network.
• Fred Smoot, former Washington Redskins player.
• Mike Richman, Redskins historian and author of The Redskins Encyclopedia and Washington Redskins Football Vault
• John Ourand, Sports Business Journal reporter
• Tailgate Ted, Redskins “super fan”
• Mary Phillips, member of the Laguna Pueblo Tribe of New Mexico and Omaha Tribe of Nebraska
• Olivia Garvey, ABC7WJLA sports anchor

Viewers can participate in the virtual town hall by tweeting comments or questions using the hashtag #MyCityMyTeam before and during the panel discussion.

WJLA VP-GM Michael Miller said: “This has been an ongoing debate for years, not only in the Washington, D.C., area but across the country, and this announcement is huge for the franchise and the Redskins community.  It’s great that we can respond to the momentous decision and share this important exchange publicly with viewers on-air and online.”

In addition, WJLA News Director Cheryl Carson said: “We’re glad we can bring these powerful voices from the Washington sports community together to share personal experiences opinions on what this name change means. Hopefully these frank discussions can help us learn and understand each other more and move forward.”