Wizards Hire Ex-ESPN Editor Cristina Daglas for Front Office Role

Former ESPN executive editor Cristina Daglas has landed a new job with Monumental Basketball—which operates the Wizards, Mystics, and the G League’s Capital City Go-Go—the organization confirmed to Front Office Sports. 

Daglas’s title is head of research and identity. The role is similar to how the Clippers hired former Sports Illustrated writer Lee Jenkins in 2018, with the title of executive director of research and identity. The goal was for Jenkins to use his journalism talents to help guide the organization’s basketball strategies. 

Daglas has already begun her new job with the Wizards. Michael Winger, the president of Monumental Basketball, was formerly assistant GM of the Clippers and was involved in the hiring of Jenkins at the time.

“Monumental Basketball is a growing and innovative organization, committed to optimizing player performance and enhancing our fans’ connectivity to and joy from the teams,” Winger said in a statement. “Understanding and communicating our basketball identity is an important endeavor to drive that performance, connectivity, and joy. Cristina’s role is to lead the group responsible for capturing our story, enhancing our organizational appeal, and sharing our identity with everyone interested. Her background in journalism and supervising some of the most important sports stories of the last decade make her uniquely qualified for this role.”

As FOS previously reported, Daglas was placed on administrative leave in January after multiple employees filed HR complaints. The specific nature of the complaints was never publicly disclosed; it was initially reported in April she was leaving ESPN and the move became official in June.

Daglas had worked at ESPN since 2014, with roles including senior editor at ESPN The Magazine and deputy editor of MLB and NBA. She was promoted to executive editor, where she was the second-top-ranked digital editor at the company, in 2021.