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After a year-long investigation into the Commanders, the
committee's final report said sexual harassment, bullying, and
other toxic conduct pervaded the team's workplace, perpetuated
by a culture of fear instilled by Snyder.
The report also stated that despite the NFL's knowledge --
through its internal investigation -- that Snyder engaged in
tactics used to intimidate victims, the league aligned its legal
interests with the Commanders and buried its findings.
"Our report tells the story of a team rife with sexual
harassment and misconduct, a billionaire owner intent on
deflecting blame, and an influential organization that chose to
cover this up rather than seek accountability and stand up for
employees," said Carolyn Maloney, who chaired the committee.
"To powerful industries across the country, this report should
serve as a wake-up call that the time of covering up misconduct
to protect powerful executives is over."
Commanders attorneys John Brownlee and Stuart Nash said in a
statement that the final report is the culmination of what they
called a "one-sided approach" by Congressional investigators
only interested in "chasing headlines".
"Today's report does not advance public knowledge of the
Washington Commanders workplace in any way," Brownlee and Nash
said.
"The team is proud of the progress it has made in recent years
in establishing a welcoming and inclusive workplace, and it
looks forward to future success, both on and off the field."
INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION
The NFL fined the Commanders $10 million last year after an
independent investigation by attorney Beth Wilkinson found
numerous female employees reported having experienced sexual
harassment, but the full report was never released.
The committee's report on Thursday also said the NFL misled the
public about its handling of the Wilkinson investigation and
that Snyder used a secret common interest agreement with the
league to prevent it from turning over documents from the
Wilkinson investigative file to the committee.
In a statement, the NFL said it was committed to ensuring
employees at all of its 32 clubs work in an environment that is
free from discrimination, harassment, or other forms of illegal
or unprofessional conduct.
The NFL also said no individual who wished to speak to the
Wilkinson firm was prevented from doing so by non-disclosure
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," the NFL said.
"Far from impeding the investigation, the common interest
agreement enabled the NFL efficiently to assume oversight of the
matter and avoided the potential for substantial delay and
inconvenience to witnesses."
Snyder bought the Washington franchise in 1999 for $800 million
and his ownership of the club has come under pressure amid
investigations by the NFL and Congress into the team's workplace
culture and potential financial improprieties.
The Commanders said last month that Snyder would explore a
potential sale of the team, one of the NFL's marquee sides,
which was ranked by Forbes this year as the league's sixth-most
valuable franchise at $5.6 billion.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, Additional reporting by
Amy Tennery in New York, editing by Ed Osmond)
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