Scot McCloughan's Wife Jessica Apologizes for Vulgar Tweets Aimed at Reporter

The Washington Redskins have been mired in drama over the past few days, and an off-field controversy added to the team's problems Wednesday.

According to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, Jessica McCloughan, the wife of Washington general manager Scot McCloughan, apologized Wednesday evening after directing disparaging remarks toward ESPN reporter Dianna Russini on Twitter.

BlackSportsOnline.com's Robert Littal captured screenshots of two tweets—the first of which was sent on Aug. 13 and later deleted. The second tweet was apparently sent on Aug. 30 before McCloughan's account was deleted and accused Russini of performing sexual acts in exchange for a story, presumably this one regarding reported front office tensions over potentially parting with Robert Griffin III.

Mike Jones of the Washington Post passed along text of Jessica McCloughan's apology:

"Dianna is an excellent reporter who should never have to be subjected to such vulgar comments," ESPN said in a statement, according to Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith. "We are obviously extremely disappointed by today’s developments."

Washington hired Scot McCloughan on a four-year deal in January. Prior to joining the Redskins, the experienced McCloughan served as the general manager of the San Francisco 49ers between 2008 and 2010 before he moved on to the Seattle Seahawks. There, he played an integral role in personnel decisions that helped the team evolve into a Super Bowl winner.

The Washington Post's Dan Steinberg noted that it's been quite a week for the Redskins, who benched Griffin in favor of Cousins on Monday:

Sports Illustrated's Richard Deitsch joked that Wednesday's incident could at least temporarily serve as a distraction to the team's on-field troubles:

At this point, Washington is merely looking forward to the start of the regular season, when it will find out if Cousins—who's entering the final year of his rookie deal—can shoulder the load and solidify his place as the team's quarterback of the future.

The Redskins are slated to open their 2015 season Sept. 13 at home against Ryan Tannehill and the Miami Dolphins.