Washington Commanders created a “toxic work culture” for more than two decades, “ignoring and downplaying sexual misconduct” by men at the highest levels of the organization, according to a report released Thursday by the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
Commander’s owner Dan Snyder was involved in the abuse, according to the report, which included the following allegations: He inappropriately touched a former employee at a dinner, had staff produce a video “of sexually suggestive footage of cheerleaders,” according to a former video production employee; and, according to a former cheerleader and marketing executive, ordered women auditioning to be cheerleaders onto the field “while he and his friends watched from his suite through binoculars.”
Snyder also interfered in an investigation that the NFL eventually took over that stemmed from former employees who in 2020 alleged rampant sexual harassment by team executives, the report said, as well as interfering with the House committee investigation by “intimidating witnesses and blocking production of documents.” Snyder was also evasive and misleading, saying more than 100 times when he testified to the committee that he didn’t remember things, the report said.
The NFL is not immune from criticism in the report, which says the league “misled the public about its handling of the Wilkinson investigation,” “continues to minimize workplace misconduct throughout the league,” “failed to protect workers from sexual harassment and abuse, ” and “has not sought true accountability for those responsible.”
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy released the following statement Thursday to NFL.com:
“The NFL is committed to ensuring that all employees of the NFL and the 32 Clubs work in a professional and supportive environment that is free from discrimination, harassment or other forms of illegal or unprofessional conduct. The NFL and the 32 Clubs have implemented significant and effective programs to promote this commitment at all of our facilities,” McCarthy said.
“The investigation of the Commanders’ workplace, conducted by Beth Wilkinson’s firm, was independent and thorough. No person who wished to speak with the Wilkinson firm was prevented from doing so by confidentiality agreements. And many of the more than 150 witnesses who participated in the Wilkinson investigation did so on the condition that their identities would be kept confidential. Far from hampering the investigation, the mutual interest agreement allowed the NFL to effectively assume oversight of the case and avoided the potential for significant delay and inconvenience to witnesses.
“Following the conclusion of Ms. Wilkinson’s investigation, the NFL issued a public announcement and imposed a record fine on the club and its ownership. The club also implemented a number of recommendations from the Wilkinson firm, and an independent firm has monitored the implementation of those recommendations through regular reviews of managers’ workplace All of these reviews, which were shared with the committee, have concluded that managers have made significant improvements in workplace culture and policies.
“Over the past 13 months, the NFL has cooperated extensively with the committee’s investigation, produced nearly half a million pages of documents, responded to dozens of written requests and voluntarily participated in a two and a half hour public hearing during which Commissioner Goodell answered 128 questions.”
John Brownlee and Stuart Nash, attorneys for the Commanders, released the following statement Thursday:
“These congressional investigators demonstrated almost immediately that they were not interested in the truth and were only interested in chasing headlines by pursuing one side of the story. Today’s report is the predictable culmination of that one-sided approach,” the statement read.
“There are no new revelations here. The committee continues to criticize Mr. Snyder for refusing to appear voluntarily at the committee’s hearing last spring, despite Mr. Snyder’s consent to sit on a date selected by the committee for an unprecedented 11 hours. of questioning under oath. The only two members of Congress who attended any part of that deposition, a Democrat and a Republican, both issued public statements in the aftermath of the deposition, characterizing Mr. Snyder’s answers as truthful, cooperative and honest. as is typical of the committee, they have refused, despite our repeated requests to release the full transcript of Mr. Snyder’s deposition.
“The committee is disingenuously trying to blame Mr. Snyder for preventing witnesses from coming forward when it had full power to subpoena any witness to testify, regardless of any NDAs. The committee’s failure to do so is telling — it is far more interested in blaming Mr. Snyder than actually investigating the underlying allegations.
“And ironically for an “investigative” body supposedly involved in an “investigation,” the investigators are actually criticizing the team and Mr. Snyder for providing evidence to the committee — such as emails sent by former team employees from their accounts on the workplace – which reveals the actual causes of the previously dysfunctional working environment in the team.
“Today’s report does not advance the public’s knowledge of Washington Commander’s workplace in any way. The team is proud of the progress it has made in recent years in establishing a welcoming and inclusive workplace and looks forward to future success, both on and off for the field.”
Lisa Banks and Debra Katz, who represented more than 40 former Commander employees, said in a statement Thursday that “the committee’s work resulted in important legislation limiting the use of confidentiality statements, which will help prevent this type of widespread harassment from happen. in other American workplaces.”
The House committee launched its investigation after the NFL failed to release a written report on attorney Beth Wilkinson’s review of the team’s workplace culture in the summer of 2021, which resulted in a $10 million fine and Snyder stepping away from the day-to-day operations of the office. team. It was prompted by several former employees who said they were sexually harassed while working for the team.
Republicans have said they will immediately drop the case once they take control of the House early next year.
Snyder and his wife, Tanya, recently hired Bank of America Securities to explore selling some or all of the team he has owned since 1999. The Commanders are worth an estimated $5.6 billion, according to Forbes — a sevenfold increase from the then-record $800 million Snyder paid for the team in 1999.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
What is Daniel Snyder’s net worth?
How did Daniel Snyder make all his money? Going into telemarketing turned out to be a great success. Revenue went from $2.7 million in 1991 to $9 million in 1993. Read also : Texas College transgender cheerleader denies assault allegations. Snyder took the company public in 1996 and soon after began acquiring other companies. In 1998, the company had annual revenues of nearly $1 billion, per The Washingtonian.
How much did Dan Snyder pay for the commanders? Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder is a self-made billionaire. He bought the team in 1999 for $750 million and has owned the team ever since.
What companies does Dan Snyder own?
Snyder (born November 23, 1965 in Silver Spring, Maryland) is the current owner of the Washington Football Team (formerly known as the Washington Redskins) National Football League (NFL) professional football franchise, owner of Dick Clark Productions television production company, and primary investor in Red Zebra … On the same subject : Kailey Mullins signs with FSU | Sports | fayettetribune.com.
.
How did Washington commanders owner make his money?
Snyder was the founder, chairman and CEO of Snyder Communications, Inc. and was the youngest CEO of a New York Stock Exchange company at the time. Read also : Camp ’22: “Big week for a lot of guys…”. From its launch in 1985, the company grew into a global organization of 12,000 employees with 77 offices in 17 countries and more than $1 billion in annual revenue.
How much would it cost to buy the Washington Commanders? Bankers and team managers expect Dan Snyder to offload the entire team, which could bring in as much as $7 billion.
How much is the Washington Commanders franchise worth? The sale of the Washington Commanders is estimated to bring in 5-6 billion dollars, a new stadium would have to be built.
