Washington Football Team

Brian Robinson is back at the Commanders' facility for the first time since Sunday's shooting -- and he's clearly pumped to return to work, flashing a huge smile while laughing with his coaches.

The star rookie sported a big wrap on his right knee and needed crutches to get around -- but in video and pics shared by Washington, you can see he was thrilled to be there.

Robinson even brought Oreos "to fulfill his rookie duties of getting snacks for the RB room," the team said.

"Boy, let me tell ya," Commanders running backs coach Randy Jordan said after seeing Robinson in the facility's lobby, "you're a sight for sore eyes!"

Ron Rivera also gave Robinson a big hug -- and after the head coach asked him if he was doing well, the 23-year-old said, "It's good to be back in the building, for real."

As we reported, Robinson was struck by gunfire in the glute and his lower leg at around 5:30 p.m. in D.C. on Sunday after authorities say two people tried to rob him at gunpoint.

Robinson required surgery to fix the damage caused by bullets -- but both he and Rivera have said the recovery process has gone smoothly since.

Brian Robinson is speaking out for the first time since he was horrifyingly shot in D.C. on Sunday -- saying on Monday he underwent surgery for his injuries ... and, thankfully, it all "went well."

The Washington Commanders tailback, who was hit by bullets in what appeared to be a robbery attempt less than 24 hours ago, posted the positive message on his social media page.

In the note, he said he was thankful for everyone's prayers ... and added, "God is great!"

Commanders head coach Ron Rivera, meanwhile, also provided some good news on the 23-year-old ... saying to media members on Monday morning, "The doctors were very positive with him, and he was very positive as well."

Robinson, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, was struck in the glute and the lower leg in the incident. Rivera said there's currently no timetable for a return to the field for the football player.

"He's doing well," Rivera said. "It'll just be a matter of time before he's back out here. There is no timeline, but as I said, everything was very positive."

The Commanders took the former Alabama star in the third round of this year's NFL draft. He was having a huge preseason before the shooting -- with some suggesting he could have been the team's starting running back when it kicks off its season next month.

Brian Robinson of the Washington Commanders was shot in D.C. this weekend ... TMZ Sports has confirmed.

The 23-year-old running back was struck by two bullets Sunday, which his lower half -- this during an attempted carjacking ... according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. We've been told he's been hospitalized and is in stable condition. He's expected to survive his injuries.

MPDC tells TMZ Sports ... a handgun was recovered not too far from the scene of the crime -- which occurred shortly before 6 PM ET -- but no arrests have been made yet.

The Commanders just played a game on Saturday against Ravens. Robinson was selected during the NFL Draft earlier this year.

Washington Commanders president Jason Wright just went OFF on a reporter over an interview the guy did with Carson Wentz ... calling it and the media member a "pompous, unprofessional mess."

"I recognize you have made a living on childlike provocation," Wright said in a scathing statement aimed at the reporter, "but it needs to be called out. Don't expect special access and good luck building rapport with the guys."

Wright's anger stems from a chat that 7News D.C.'s Scott Abraham had with Wentz earlier this week.

In the talk with the Commanders' quarterback, Abraham pointed out a lot of Wentz's flaws -- and then said during the sit-down "Philly didn't want you" and "Indy didn't want you."

Wentz didn't appear too bothered by the comments and questions -- answering them the best he could -- but Wright was obviously enraged.

"It's not that the guys can't take criticism," the 40-year-old said. "Just be a journalist and follow standard practices. Others have found a way to do both."

Wright went on to praise Wentz for demonstrating "grace & class" during the interview.

Wentz -- who is playing for his third team in the last three years -- is expected to be Washington's starting quarterback this season.

Forget cars, bling and shopping sprees ... Terry McLaurin celebrated his new, massive Commanders contract extension by spending some of his newfound cash at a Miami nightclub!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... just a couple weeks after the wide receiver signed a huge $71 MILLION extension with Washington -- he hit up Mr Jones in South Beach to party hard.

McLaurin was there on Saturday night -- and at one point during the festivities, the club recognized his new, 3-year Commanders deal by writing a congratulations note to him on the video boards.

The club also posted McLaurin up in a makeshift helicopter -- all while clubgoers cheered him on.

Of course, the 26-year-old had every reason to party his ass off -- coming into the league as a third-round pick in 2019, the wideout was making right around league minimum to dominate for the Commanders the last three years.

"[Jack Del Rio] has the right to be wrong. In America, you have the right to be wrong. The team fined him $100K for this opinion. Fining people for an opinion, I am not down with that."

That was Bill Maher forcefully defending the Washington Commanders defensive coordinator's right to free speech on his show Friday night ... whether you believe the coach is right or wrong about his Capitol attack comments.

Of course, Del Rio was fined $100K for calling January 6th a "dust-up" ... and comparing violence at the Capitol to violence in the wake of George Floyd's murder.

"I see the images on TV, people's livelihoods are being destroyed," Del Rio said. "Businesses are being burned down. No problem, and then we have a dust-up at the Capitol, where nothing burned down. And we’re going to make that a major deal?"

When head coach Ron Rivera announced the big fine, he seemingly contradicted himself when he noted JDR had the "Constitutional right" to make the comments, confusing many people, including Maher. Rivera also said he "very strongly" believes in free speech.

[Rivera] said about the guy who got fined, "'He does have the right to voice his opinion, and it most certainly is his Constitutional right to do so.' Apparently not! This is the don't pee on my shoe and tell me it's raining. What the f*** are you talking about? He doesn't have the right to an opinion, and it's obviously not his right to do so."

Del Rio later apologized for the comments.

Aside from JDR, the Commanders organization has been plagued by controversy.

Just a few weeks ago, the heads of two Congressional committees (United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform and Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy) blasted the team, accusing Washington and the NFL of obstructing the committees "at every turn" as they investigate claims of rampant sexual harassment within the Commanders.

The NFL, in a separate investigation, looked into several of the claims, and fined Washington $10 million.

Jack Del Rio won't lose his job over his Jan. 6 comments earlier this week ... but his wallet will be lighter -- the team just fined him $100,000 for the remark.

Head coach Ron Rivera just announced the punishment ... saying Del Rio's comments "do not reflect the organization's views and are extremely hurtful to our great community here in the DMV."

Rivera added that Del Rio's money will now be donated to the United States Capitol Police Memorial Fund.

"I feel strongly that after our conversation this morning," Rivera said, "[Del Rio] will have a greater understanding for the impact of his language and the values that our team stands for."

Del Rio initially made the controversial comments on Wednesday ... when he was trying to explain to a throng of media members why he believed the riots following George Floyd's death in 2020 should be investigated in the same way as the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.

"I see the images on TV, people's livelihoods are being destroyed. Businesses are being burned down -- no problem," Del Rio told reporters at Washington practice. "And then we have a dust-up at the Capitol, where nothing burned down. And we're going to make that a major deal."

Del Rio eventually apologized for the remarks ... but the backlash was still swift, with many slamming him over the words.

In fact, NAACP president Derrick Johnson said he believed the coach should have lost his job over it all.

The NFL and Washington Commanders stonewalled a congressional investigation into the workplace culture of the team ... so says the Chairwoman of the powerful Committee on Oversight and Reform, who "invited" Roger Goodell and Daniel Snyder to testify in D.C.

The United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform launched an investigation in October aiming to "uncover the truth about the culture of harassment and abuse" ... after numerous ex-employees spoke out.

But, House Chair, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) says the league and organization have slowed the investigation by not fully cooperating ... firing off a letter to both entities, ripping them.

"The Committee has worked tirelessly to obtain critical information, including the findings of the internal investigation conducted by attorney Beth Wilkinson, only to be met with obstruction from the Commanders and the NFL at every turn."

Rep. Maloney continued ... "We must have transparency and accountability, which is why we are calling on Mr. Goodell and Mr. Snyder to answer the questions they have dodged for the last seven months. The hearing will explore how Congress can act to prevent employers from silencing victims of workplace misconduct and ensure that what happened at the Commanders organization does not happen again."

Chairwoman Maloney wasn't alone ... Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, went in on Goodell and Snyder.

"For seven months, the Committee has been stonewalled by NDAs and other tools to evade accountability," Chairman Krishnamoorthi wrote.

"Mr. Snyder and Mr. Goodell need to appear before the Committee to address these issues and answer our questions about the pervasive workplace misconduct at the Washington Commanders, and how the NFL addressed these issues."

FYI, back in Summer 2020, at least 15 former employees spoke out about the alleged sexual harassment that ran rampant through the org.

The NFL investigated the situation themselves, and ultimately fined the team $10 million.

As for the NFL, they clearly see the situation very differently, responding to the invitation, and claiming they obstructed the investigation.

"We received the Committee's invitation this morning and will respond directly in a timely manner," a league spokesperson said.

Another NFL QB is on the move ... the Indianapolis Colts have agreed to trade Carson Wentz to the Washington Commanders.

Adam Schefter just reported the news ... saying the Colts will receive "a package of picks" that will include third-rounders for the signal-caller.

It's the second time in the last year that Wentz has been traded -- you'll recall, the Philadelphia Eagles sent him to Indy in March 2021 for draft picks as well.

Wentz had an up-and-down year in his one and only season with the Colts. Battling injuries, he started 17 games and threw for 3,563 yards, 27 TDs and 7 INTs. Indianapolis ended up missing out on the playoffs following a devastating Week 18 loss to the Jaguars.

Wentz will now be the presumed starter in Washington, as Taylor Heinicke will most likely fall into the backup role.

As for Wentz's potential in D.C. ... TMZ Sports spoke with his former tight end in Indy, Mo Alie-Cox, just days ago outside of JLT Performance Gym in Los Angeles, and he told us he was confident Wentz still has the goods to get a team to the Super Bowl.

New name, same horrifying allegations for the Washington Commanders -- Dan Snyder was accused on Capitol Hill of inappropriately touching a female employee at a work dinner, but the owner is vehemently denying the allegation.

A group of former employees was in D.C. to speak with the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on Thursday ... and several women broke down in tears describing the harrowing experiences within the organization.

Melanie Coburn -- who worked as a cheerleader and in the marketing dept. -- claims Snyder hand-picked women to join the team based on their looks, and not talent.

Coburn also claims she was invited to Snyder's Aspen, Colorado home with other colleagues for an "awards trip" ... and after a night out, she was forced to go in the owner's basement and stay there. She claims another colleague later told her it was due to the men bringing back prostitutes.

Tiffani Johnston -- another former cheerleader, who had not previously spoken out -- claims Snyder touched her inner thigh under the table, as well as her lower back, during a team dinner ... and attempted to convince her into his limo at the end of the evening. Johnston said she tried to report the interaction to a supervisor, but was instructed to keep her mouth shut.

A former video production manager -- Brad Baker -- claims Snyder ordered employees in 2008 to put together an X-rated highlight reel of cheerleaders called the "good bits" ... which featured uncensored footage that had not been retouched to exclude accidental nudity.

During the meeting -- which was not under oath -- a Congresswoman pressed Baker on some offensive Tweets he'd allegedly posted, one of which included a crude comment about a female sports reporter "dressing like a whore." Baker responded ... whatever he'd tweeted had nothing to do with his experiences working with the team.

Ana Nunez -- the former coordinator of business development -- says her 8 years with the team was filled with fear of being sexually harassed.

As we previously reported, the NFL conducted an investigation into multiple claims of sexual misconduct within the organization ... which resulted in a $10 million fine. The league, however, did not make the findings public.

Snyder, in a statement to TMZ Sports, says the claims made on Thursday are simply not true.

"While past conduct at the Team was unacceptable, the allegations leveled against me personally in today's roundtable - many of which are well over 13 years old - are outright lies," Snyder said.

"I unequivocally deny having participated in any such conduct, at any time and with respect to any person."

"Tanya and I will not be distracted by those with a contrary agenda from continuing with the positive personnel and cultural changes that have been made at the Team over the past 18 months, and those that we continue to make both on and off the field."

A bystander frantically urged 911 dispatch to get help to the Deshazor Everett car crash immediately ... telling an operator, "The car is trapped. It's trapped in the trees!"

In the audio, obtained by TMZ Sports, an initial caller can be heard on Dec. 23 saying he "just saw a car clip over" in Loudoun County, Virginia.

The caller said the car -- which was later identified to be a 2010 Nissan GT-R driven by the Washington Football Team safety -- had gone "into thick woods."

Later in the call, another man took the phone and tried to explain the seriousness of the situation -- repeatedly telling the woman they needed help ASAP.

"Please hurry," the man said over and over again.

The man told dispatch he wasn't sure what had caused the crash -- but said he believed one passenger in the car was trapped.

Medical personnel eventually arrived on the scene ... and, as we previously reported, they found Everett and his 29-year-old passenger, Olivia S. Peters, at the crash site.

Authorities said Peters tragically passed away due to injuries suffered in the crash ... and said Everett sustained serious but not life-threatening wounds in the wreck as well.

Everett was later placed on Washington's reserve/non-football injury list, concluding his season, and he tweeted on Thursday, "Thank you for all of your prayers, continue to pray for Olivia's family and me. Thank you all #Live4Liv."

An investigation into what caused the crash is still ongoing. Everett's attorney, Kaveh Noorishad, said Wednesday the football player is cooperating with law enforcement as the probe continues.

Jay Gruden is taking a page out of his brother's insensitive comment playbook ... saying Tuesday he believes the Washington Football Team should have never dropped its racist "Redskins" name.

Jay made the eyebrow-raising statement on the "Russell & Medhurst" radio show ... just three months after Jon Gruden was ousted from his Raiders gig for a pattern of highly offensive comments in emails.

"I don't want to ruffle any feathers," the former WFT head coach said while mocking the hosts for talking so much about the team's plan to officially adopt a new nickname next month, "but they should have never changed the name in the first place."

Jay didn't expound on why he felt that way -- he was never asked a follow-up -- but one of the hosts did tell him, "You just ruffled some feathers. I like that."

"Hey, Jay," the other host added. "With the fanbase here, that's probably the greatest thing you've ever said to them. Because I think 90 percent of the fanbase agrees with you 100 percent on that as well."

Of course, the WFT moved on from its longstanding moniker before the 2020 season began ... after it received a tidal wave of criticism for years over the name's racist ties.

Nike had stopped selling the team's merch on its official website ... and Native American leaders routinely blasted it for being offensive -- so Dan Snyder and the WFT moved on.

Jalen Hurts just fired off a letter to the NFL and Washington Football Team bluntly asking ... what are you gonna do to make sure fans and media aren't ever again put in a dangerous situation -- this after a railing collapsed at FedEx Field in D.C. on Sunday.

"I am writing to inquire about what follow-up action is being considered," Hurts said in the letter, "in response to the near-tragic incident that took place at FedEx Field on January 2, 2022."

"As you are aware, many individuals, including fans, media personnel, and myself, were placed in a dangerous situation when portions of the FedEx Field collapsed."

Of course, Hurts is alluding to the scary incident that occurred on Sunday following the Eagles 20-16 win over the WFT ... when a railing gave way as Jalen was walking into the stadium tunnel, sending several fans crashing to the ground.

Fans wearing Eagles jerseys were leaning over, trying to get as close to the star QB as possible ... when the railing collapsed.

Despite nearly getting crushed, Jalen didn't panic. The QB immediately sprang into action, helping the fans get back to their feet.

Hurts said the purpose of his letter was to ensure the NFL and WFT were going to take proactive measures to ensure this kind of situation doesn't happen again.

"As a result, I would like to know what safeguards the NFL and the Washington Football Team are Implementing to prevent this from ever occurring in the future."

The Washington Football Team will announce its new identity next month ... but there's one name that's already off the table -- RedWolves.

WFT prez Jason Wright broke the news to fans early Tuesday morning ... saying the fan-favorite "RedWolves" and more simple "Wolves" branding won't work due to trademark issues.

"One of the most awesome and powerful aspects of this process has been getting to hear and understand your preferences directly, and we know that many of you loved one or both of these names," Wright said in a statement.

The 39-year-old added the organization made a huge emphasis to focus on fan opinions, but other teams had already beaten them to the punch.

"Understanding the weight and importance of our team name, and excitement around other name options -- both internally and within our fan base -- we didn't want to risk going down a route that could be dotted with legal hurdles," Wright added.

"The prospect of years of litigation wasn't something that we wanted you, our fans, to have to bear as you begin to embrace a new brand."

The 27-year-old brother of Washington Football Team star Montez Sweat was shot and killed on Tuesday in Virginia ... cops said Wednesday.

According to Henrico Police, officers responded to a call of a shooting in Henrico at around 4:09 p.m.

Cops say when they arrived on the scene, they found Anthony Sweat suffering from apparent gunshot wounds... and pronounced him dead at the scene.

Further details surrounding the shooting have not yet been released ... cops did note, however, that no one else was injured. They added no arrests have been made.

Police said an investigation into it all is underway ... and they're urging anyone with more information on the incident to call 804-928-0279.

Montez, meanwhile, missed Wednesday's practice mourning the death of Anthony ... and head coach Ron Rivera called the situation "rough" after the team's workout.

"It is rough," Rivera said, "and our thoughts and prayers are with the families."

25-year-old Montez has been a star for the WFT since being picked in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft ... logging 21 sacks in 42 games.