Bradley Beal may not be a Wizard anymore, but Washington is still in his blood, and as the Washington Wizards prepare to move to Virginia to play, Beal is pleading with the owner to keep the Wizards in D.C.
The Washington Wizards’ owner Ted Leonsis and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced plans to move Washington’s basketball team to Virginia with plans also to build a new arena for them to play in as well.
Bradley Beal, the newest star of the Booker-Durant-Beal trio, spoke from the heart about this potential move calling out Leonsis for the possible move to Virginia. Beal has been keeping a year-long diary with Andscape, and this past week he explained his frustrations with the move and the team owner.
“D.C., I’m here with you. I’m with you all. There is no moving to Virginia. What is that, [Wizards owner] Ted [Leonsis]?” Beal wrote. “We love you to death. We understand what you want to do and are trying to do. But you can’t take the team out of D.C. It’s Chocolate City. As a league, we need it. It has to stay in D.C. now.”
Beal spent 11 years in Washington, and he accrued plenty of accolades and memories with them before he was traded to the Phoenix Suns in the offseason. Beal was one of the few NBA talents who stayed loyal to their team for a while before finally moving on for better chances of winning and competing for a championship.
Earlier in his career he saw some success with John Wall and the Wizards, but as the Wizards lost players and the Eastern Conference got more competitive, they went back into rebuilding mode and it was time for Beal, who hit his 30s this year, to move on to a competitor.
Regardless of how things ended in Washington, where Beal reportedly was caught off guard by the trade, Beal still has nothing but love for his former home of 11 years, and even though the Wizards are looking at the financial gain of moving to Virginia, Beal wants the mayor to figure out a way to keep the Wizards in the District of Columbia.
“It’s Chocolate City. As a league, we need it. It has to stay in D.C. now. The money? Listen, it’s out of my hands and out of my control. I ain’t got nothing to do with that. Hopefully [Washington] mayor [Muriel] Bowser can work something out with you.”
Beal really wants the team to remain in D.C., and relates the potential move to the Commanders moving to Maryland, and how it can create some dismay in the community.
“I hope the team stays. It’s good for the city. It creates a little bit of a problem, just my personal opinion, if it moves to Virginia. It’s probably similar to how people felt when [the Washington Commanders] moved to Maryland. It is a tough thing. We just got to get everybody back to D.C. just rebuild RFK Stadium, rebuild Cap One (Capital One Arena). Keep it in the city. We can make it happen and they can make happen.”
There’s definitely a position for Beal in the Wizards organization, or in the community once he hangs the jersey up, especially considering how hard he’s pushing for the Wizards to remain in D.C.
