Eric Washington honored as the Los Angeles Rams’ fourth “pLAymaker” of 2026

The Los Angeles Rams honored Eric Washington, a Community Engagement Manager with the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA), as the team’s fourth “pLAymaker” of 2026. The recognition, announced by the club, spotlights Washington’s work building relationships across the Watts area and helping keep residents and service providers connected to local priorities.

Washington’s nomination centers on his role in community outreach and convening, including a weekly call organized through the Watts Gang Task Force. The Rams said the call has been held every Monday since 2006, with about 100 people joining to receive updates and coordinate efforts across multiple sectors. Those updates include information from public safety and law enforcement partners, nonprofits, and public officials, including the mayor’s office and a councilman’s office.

The Rams framed the weekly format as a way to keep communication aligned and reduce gaps between community needs and available resources. In the team’s description, Washington’s work supports continuity, ensuring that different groups are not operating in isolation and that residents can better understand where services and enforcement efforts intersect.

In addition to the Watts Gang Task Force calls, the club’s announcement also tied Washington’s recognition to his broader engagement approach. The Rams cited his background and service and noted that he was honored alongside community-centered work, including efforts involving the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. The emphasis was less on a single event and more on sustained coordination over time.

The Rams’ “pLAymaker” program is designed to recognize individuals who contribute to the Los Angeles community in ways that go beyond the field. In this case, Washington’s recognition points to an operational kind of impact, one built around consistent meetings, shared information, and a network of local stakeholders that can respond as community conditions change.

While the club did not outline specific operational metrics or recent policy outcomes in its announcement, the details provided describe the structure of the effort: a long-running, recurring forum that brings together roughly 100 participants each week. That cadence matters in communities where trust, awareness of services, and timely information can influence how residents access support and how public-facing organizations communicate priorities.

Looking ahead, the nomination offers a window into what the Rams value in off-field community work: relationships that can last across years, and systems that support coordination between public institutions and neighborhood organizations. Washington’s recognition also underscores how professional sports franchises increasingly highlight local civic infrastructure, not just philanthropy in the abstract, as part of their season-long public engagement.