Congress Finds Dan Snyder Obstructed Sexual Harassment Investigation

Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

While other team owners in the league complained privately about Snyder, several spoke on condition of anonymity. Bosses told The New York Times they were reluctant to force a sale because it would create a precedent that could be used against them.

Last month, Snyder’s wife, Tanya with – Commander’s owner, hired bankers to explore options for selling some or all of the franchise, which The operating rights are valued at US$5.6 billion. Toxic environment

Trouble In July 2020, The Washington Post published an article detailing the club’s toxic environment, citing interviews with more than a dozen women who said They were sexually harassed while working there, which brought the team’s work to a head. Snyder hired Washington attorney Beth Wilkinson to investigate the allegations, but the league took over oversight.

Wilkinson was initially asked to report to the league during four status briefings to the league while the investigation was ongoing, the investigation concluded and documentary evidence was prepared. a part of. Goodall decided in October 2020 to have her present her final findings only verbally.

In November 2020, the Commander’s former general counsel sued to prevent Wilkinson from using non-public documents to implicate Snyder in 2009 to a man who accused him of Former team employee who sexually misconducted during private jet flight pays settlement.

The committee said the team failed to report the nature of the former employee’s allegations against the NFL that continued into 2020 and that the team refused to release her from a non-disclosure agreement amid the league’s investigation in an attempt to prevent her reporting to the NFL. Investigators talked about it, though she eventually did.

When Wilkinson’s investigation concluded in July 2021, the NFL released only a brief summary of its findings. The league claims the decision was made to protect the privacy of some former team employees who have spoken to Wilkinson.

Goodell ended the league’s investigation by issuing a statement saying Wilkinson found over the years that the team’s work environment, especially for women, was “very unprofessional,” Employees are bullied and intimidated in a culture of fear. Many female employees have been sexually harassed, Goodale said.

The NFL fined the team, and Snyder agreed to relinquish day-to-day control for at least a year.

A congressional committee opened its own investigation in October 2021 after several women who made allegations of sexual harassment accused the NFL of covering up evidence of Snyder and his team’s incrimination. .

When the committee sought to investigate the team’s conduct, the report stated that “the league, working closely with commanders through a previously undisclosed mutual interest agreement, refused to produce more than 40,000 Wilkinson’s investigation and material from Ms. Wilkinson’s file.”

The report released Thursday includes numerous allegations made by former employees Produced during Wilkinson’s investigation, much of which was disclosed in a 2018 article in The New York Times and 2020 Washington Post.

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Tiffani Johnston was one of the former team employees who filed claims directly against Snyder during the congressional roundtable. Credit… Graeme Pool photo taken by Jennings

During the congressional investigation, former employees filed new claims directly against Snyder. Speaking at a committee roundtable, Tiffani Johnston, the team’s former marketing and events coordinator, said that at a work dinner in 2005 or 2006, she sat next to Snyder, who Ned put his hands on his lap under the table. Later that night, she said, she resisted Snyder’s attempt to push her into his limousine. Snyder hosted a work event at his home in Aspen, Colorado, for which team executives hired prostitutes. NFL’s Second Survey

This Allegation The February hearing prompted the NFL to initiate investigations against Snyder and his team Second survey. It is headed by former Securities and Exchange Commission chairwoman and U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White. The league said there was no timetable for White to complete her report. The male co-workers, did nothing to resolve the issue, even defending one of the males.

Witnesses said Snyder was “common for sexual misconduct, exploitation of women, male bullying, and other inappropriate behavior, and he was a hands-on boss who almost played a role in every organizational decision,” the committee wrote in Thursday’s report. “As one eyewitness testified, Mr. Snyder ‘created a culture where this behavior was accepted and encouraged.'”

The committee also The NFL warned Snyder to cooperate with an investigation into Wilkinson as early as August 2020, but the league did not step in to prevent Snyder from blocking the former employee from being interviewed, the NFL said. It said the league knew Snyder was trying to intimidate the former employee but failed to stop him from doing so.

Allen told the committee that Snyder used some of his emails to gain advantage in other lawsuits. Allen said he reported the matter to the NFL’s special counsel on investigations, Lisa Freer, who told him Snyder’s use of the email was “conduct harmful to the league” and a punishable offense.

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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell appeared before a House committee in June. Credit… Elizabeth Franz/Reuters

Both Snyder and Goodell were subpoenaed by the committee to testify in early June. While Goodell agreed to provide virtual testimony three weeks later, the terms of the virtual appearance and deposition Snyder offered in late July took nearly two months and a congressional subpoena after Snyder’s attorneys agreed to the terms. threat.

The committee concluded that the league failed to oversee how its teams handled sexual harassment complaints, leaving teams to investigate rather than notify the league office of potential workplace violations. The committee said the existing agreement runs counter to a recommendation White made to the NFL in 2018 when it investigated allegations of domestic violence against Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott.

“The NFL has consistently failed to take workplace misconduct seriously, compounded by its own policies designed to protect the interests of club owners,” the commission’s report said.

The committee also questioned the NFL’s failure to properly punish Snyder on the grounds that he was allowed to remain committed to the team’s work even after he was suspended Two of the biggest economic moves: rebranding and a push to build new stadiums. He also attended team games, but skipped NFL owner meetings, instead having Tanya Snyder represent them.

In October, Daniel Snyder told Washington-area radio stations that his restrictions had been lifted, and the commander’s team attorney said Snyder was back in charge of the team.