Redskins great John Riggins makes sure his voice is heard

Not long after John Riggins retired from football following the 1985 season, I asked a network sports television executive why a colorful, quote machine of a player I'd covered since the day he came to town in 1976 hadn't been signed up immediately by a single broadcasting entity televising pro football. After all, he was smart, telegenic, funny and opinionated, everything and more you'd look for in the booth or in a studio every NFL Sunday.

The short answer, and almost 25 years later I'm paraphrasing here, was that the network suits were scared of a possible runaway Diesel, if only because you never knew what he might say next.

Riggins clearly lived up to that billing during his controversial appearance on Showtime's lively "Inside the NFL" show two weeks ago, describing Redskins owner Daniel Snyder as a "bad guy" whose "heart is dark." Riggins never fully explained precisely what made him draw those conclusions, and has continued to hammer the owner, describing him as a "bully" and a "narcissist" on subsequent appearances on WTOP radio, which now employs him to talk about the Redskins three times a week during the season, with several one-hour "Ask Riggo" specials also part of his deal.

I have no problem with Riggins offering his opinion on Snyder and the Redskins on or off the air. And there are plenty of people out there who probably agree with his harsh depiction of the team's owner, who also owns WTEM, the all-sports radio station that once employed Riggins. WTOP management also has no problem with him either.

"There's a place for news and there's a place for commentary," said Mike McMearty, WTOP's news director. "John has strong opinions and we encourage him to express them."

McMearty added that Riggins is no different than conservative commentator Cal Thomas or political analyst Mark Plotkin, who are both regular WTOP contributors. "That's why they're there," he said.

McMearty said WTOP makes an effort to offer the standard disclaimer that Riggins's opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the station. He also said WTOP has sent a letter to the Redskins inviting Snyder and/or Vinny Cerrato, the team's vice president for football operations and a frequent Riggins target, to come on with Riggins. "We have reiterated that invitation to be on our air anytime. They have declined," he said.

Riggins keeps plowing straight ahead, just as he did over his memorable Hall of Fame career as a Redskins running back. One of the most popular athletes in Washington sports history also is zig-zagging in other directions these days, embracing the concept of using new media to spread his words and his images, with remarkable success.

"I'm an old dog learning new tricks," Riggins said this week of his recent adventures using Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to get his message out. "It's actually a hell of a lot of fun. It's almost immediate gratification. You put the information out there, and you don't have to wait for any news cycle. If you're looking at the future, this is definitely the way to go."

His business partner these days is Tod Castleberry, a longtime Washington radio executive who also worked for Snyder's Red Zebra radio division as director of operations while Riggins hosted his own talk show on the station.

After Riggins's contract was not renewed by Red Zebra last summer, Castleberry began talks with a number of local and regional media outlets about a new gig for his client. They turned down several offers, he said, because "they just weren't the right fit," but all along the way it became obvious that any deal also likely would have a digital component to it.

"With the season just about to start, we thought we could do some of this new media on our own, so we decided to build on that," Castleberry said. "It's taken off beyond our wildest expectations."