Ex-COO Ron Minegar Rips Cardinals for Handling of Terry McDonough Accusations

Ron Minegar lives in Hermosa Beach, California these days and never wanted to get involved in the Arizona Cardinals’ spat with ex-assistant GM Terry McDonough.

But Minegar, who worked for the team for 20 years and ascended to Chief Operating Officer until resigning in 2020, has spoken openly with multiple publications over the past couple months, pulling no punches in what he has labeled a negative culture within the organization due to owner Michael Bidwill.

Minegar went on the Doug Franz Unplugged podcast recently and said he decided to speak on the record for ESPN’s investigation into the workplace and with other outlets because of the way the Cardinals attacked McDonough following his arbitration filing against the team.

McDonough accused the Cardinals of gross misconduct, including cheating, discrimination and harassment.

Within their official rebuttal, Cardinals external public relations advisor Jim McCarthy wrote that one of McDonough’s family members came to the team and said the former executive ‘abandoned responsibility’ to one of his children, among other accusations.

The Cardinals’ decision to make that conversation public incensed Minegar.

“That’s evil,” Minegar told Franz. “That is evil. That is so far out of bounds, so far out of line. I’ll just say this. I don’t typically say things like this but I’m going to in this case. My dad used to tell me the only way you can deal with a bully is to punch him in the mouth. If McCarthy was standing here right now, he’d be a bully being punched in the f—--- mouth.”

Minegar called McCarthy “one of the lowest forms of life I know in this business” and “a special kind of bad guy” while also pointing out that the response needed approval from Bidwill before being released.

“He didn’t do that in a vacuum,” Minegar said. “That was all part of the plan. … Shame on Michael Bidwill, shame on the Cardinals and shame on Jim McCarthy for saying that.”

There have not been many updates on the status of McDonough’s arbitration case, though McDonough told Franz he heard it could be wrapped up in December.

Minegar said the NFL hasn’t contacted him for an interview about the litany of accusations, which happened within his time with the team.

He said he has made it clear that he’s happy to speak with any of the parties about his recollections from that period.

“I have not heard a word from (the NFL),” Minegar told Franz.

Minegar said another reason for going public was because Bidwill released a letter without his approval that shined the organization in a good light. Minegar said he never approved its release, and if he did, he would have insisted it be the full letter instead of snippets.

“Not only to use it, but to mischaracterize it?” Minegar told Franz. “That’s wrong. At that point, I made a determination that, as much as I don’t want to be involved in this, and as much I don’t want to drag my friends, family, everybody I care about, through this, I need to say something.”

It’s unclear if Bidwill or the Cardinals’ organization will be punished by the NFL for any of the claims made by McDonough, or for accusations that were unearthed in subsequent investigative articles by ESPN and The Athletic.