While the NFL was investigating his team for widespread misconduct in the workplace, Washington Commander-in-Chief Daniel Snyder led a “shadow investigation” to interfere and undermine his findings, a committee found. Congress.
At Snyder’s request, his legal team used private investigators to harass and intimidate witnesses and created a 100-page dossier aimed at victims, witnesses and journalists who had shared “credible public accusations of harassment” against the team.
The House Oversight and Reform Committee released a 29-page note on Wednesday detailing the findings of its eight-month investigation into how commanders and the NFL handled rampant sexual harassment claims against female employees. equipment. The report came before a hearing where league commissioner Roger Goodell was expected to appear and face questioning. Snyder rejected two requests to appear, citing a “long-running trade dispute.”
Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, a New York Democrat chair of the committee, wrote that the investigation uncovered evidence that Snyder intended to discredit those who had made claims against the team and create “an exculpatory narrative” that Snyder did not have. guilt. for the misconduct, which allegedly took place between 2006 and 2019, almost all of the ownership of his property.
To that end, Snyder and his attorneys also gathered thousands of emails from Bruce Allen, who was Executive of Commanders from 2009 to 2019, in an effort to blame Allen for creating a toxic work environment and tried influencing the NFL investigation through direct access to the league and Beth Wilkinson, the lawyer who led the league report, according to the note.
A Snyder representative said in a statement that the committee’s investigation was “predetermined from the outset” and said the team addressed these workplace issues “years ago”.
The NFL was aware of Snyder’s actions, the note said, “but did not take significant action to prevent them.” Wilkinson’s investigation led the league to impose a $ 10 million team fine on Snyder and forced him to retire from the club’s day-to-day operations, but the NFL did not ask Wilkinson to prepare a written report. decision that has called for the scrutiny of both elected officials and former employees of the team who participated in the investigation.
Understand recent NFL controversies
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A wave of scrutiny. The most popular sports league in the United States faces criticism and legal issues on several fronts, ranging from discrimination to injuries to athletes. Here are some of the recent controversies facing the NFL, its executives and teams:
Allegations of possible fraud. A former Washington Commanders executive said the team reduced revenue from ticket sales to be shared with the rest of the NFL and withheld fan security deposits. The franchise has sent 102 pages of documents refuting the claims to the Federal Trade Commission.
Sexual harassment claims. Commander-in-Chief Daniel Snyder is under investigation by the NFL after former employees made sexual harassment allegations against him. In July, the league fined the franchise $ 10 million following an investigation into allegations of harassment at the team’s reception.
A demoralizing culture for women. Following the 2014 Ray Rice scandal, the NFL stepped up its efforts to hire and promote women. But more than 30 former staff members interviewed by The Times described a stifling corporate culture that has made many women feel left out. Six attorneys general warned the league that it would solve the problems or could face an investigation.
Goodell will tell the committee Wednesday that the league had “compelling reasons” to limit the Wilkinson report to an oral briefing, that is, to preserve the confidentiality of its participants. “We have been open and direct about the fact that the work culture in commanders was not only unprofessional, but toxic for too long,” Goodell said in a prepared testimony. He added that there has been a “substantial transformation” of the team’s office and that it “does not look like the job described in this commission”.
The committee, which said its intent was to examine the failures of commanders and the NFL and strengthen workplace protections for all employees, will present its findings at Wednesday’s hearing. The NFL began a second investigation into commanders earlier this year in response to a new allegation of sexual harassment directly involving Snyder at a congressional roundtable in February. Goodell said the findings of this investigation, led by attorney Mary Jo White, will be made public.
The committee’s note also cites additional examples of Snyder’s direct role in creating a job that Goodell acknowledged was marked by widespread disrespect and harassment. The team’s former chief operating officer told the committee that Snyder “refused to take action” against a coach who allegedly palpated a public relations employee and fired workers who had consensual relationships with employees. men’s football operations, while men kept their jobs.
In addition, the Washington Post reported that Wilkinson’s investigation examined the 2009 confidentiality agreement of a claim that Snyder palpated an employee and asked her about sex.