President-elect Donald Trump has tapped billionaire Warren Stephens to serve as US ambassador to the UK, in a move that has outraged one particular group of people: New York Jets fans.
Stephens is the president of Stephens, Inc., a privately held, independent financial services company based in his home state of Arkansas.
Stephens is a major donor to GOP-heralded causes and also contributed to many of Trump’s SuperPACs over the years.
But why would New York Jets fans be so upset that an Arkansas businessman got the job? It’s because Trump’s last choice as UK ambassador was Jets owner Woody Johnson.
Johnson was appointed ambassador to the United Kingdom in November 2017, just over a year after Trump was first elected to the White House. He held that position until the day Joe Biden took office.
With Trump leaving with someone else, Jets fans are outraged, as many of them expected Johnson to be forced to relinquish control of the team like last time.
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen his candidate for US ambassador to the UK
Trump appointed billionaire Arkansas businessman Warren Stephens to the position
New York Jets fans are furious about this choice, as they expected former UK ambassador and team owner Woody Johnson to return to office and be forced to transfer control of the franchise.
All season long, the Jets have been one of the worst teams in the NFL and will miss their first winning record since 2015.
Many fans expected Johnson to be chosen as an ambassador and be forced to relinquish control of the team to his brother, Chris Johnson.
While Trump could very well choose Woody Johnson as an ambassador somewhere other than the United Kingdom, Jets fans took to social media and did not take the news well.
“Well, looks like the Jets are stuck with Woody Johnson screwing things up for 4 more years,” wrote one user on X, formerly Twitter.
Another user posted: “Even Trump knows Woody is a useless idiot.”
“There’s no hiding from the ‘sell the team’ chants for the next 4 years,” another fan wrote. Another fan declared the appointment, or lack thereof, “a disaster for Jets fans.” “We needed him away from the football team.”
One fan tried to put things into perspective, saying: “Reading the disappointed responses and feeling the need to remind people that Chris Johnson was just as bad, if not worse, than Woody.”
According to StatMuse, since Johnson purchased the Jets in 2000, the team has a 171-228 regular season record and a 6-6 playoff record in six appearances.