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U.S. House Finds Evidence of Long-Term Financial Misconduct by Daniel Snyder and the Washington Commanders

NFL Releases Statement About Commanders’ Potential Financial Misconduct

Former SEC chair Mary Jo White will “review the serious matters” raised by the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Oversight and Reform concerning the Commanders and their financial conduct, NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said in a statement to Sports Illustrated. 

Additionally, the league said it will “continue to cooperate with the oversight committee and have provided more than 210,000 pages of documents,” which include materials that have been shared since the committee first launched the investigation last fall. 

On Tuesday, the committee released a statement and a copy of its 20-page letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which asserted that Washington and co-team owner Dan Snyder “may have engaged in a troubling, long-running, and potentially unlawful pattern of financial conduct that victimized thousands of team fans and the National Football League.”

The letter, a copy of which was sent to SI, included testimony from former Washington sales executive Jason Friedman. Some of the instances cited are as follows. 

  • Alleged misappropriation of funds, specifically withholding customers’ security deposits on premium seating and using the money for other purposes, that totaled “approximately $5 million” from “around 2,000 accounts.” 
  • Ticket revenue, which is supposed to be shared with the league, was underreported. Friedman said “the team maintained ‘two sets of books’—one that was shared with the NFL but underreported certain ticket revenue, and another internal set of books that included the complete and accurate revenue and was ‘shown to Mr. Snyder.’”

Here is more on the documents released by the committee, including details of the spreadsheet from Friedman, and how the former Washington sales executive said in his testimony that these financial practices began when things “started to get a little tougher for the team financially,” and noted they were encouraged by senior leadership, including Snyder. 

The NFL Can Still Turn Daniel Snyder’s Ongoing Mess Into a Positive

“This new information on potential financial misconduct suggests that the rot under Dan Snyder’s leadership is much deeper than imagined,” Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D., N.Y.) said in a statement. “It further reinforces the concern that this organization has been allowed to operate with impunity for far too long. This new information suggests that in addition to fostering a hostile workplace culture, Mr. Snyder also may have cheated the team’s fans and the NFL. 

“While the focus of our investigation remains the Commanders’ toxic work environment, I hope the FTC will review this troubling financial conduct and determine whether further action is necessary. We must have accountability.”

The Commanders have denied any financial impropriety since the allegations arose March 31. It is the second investigation into the franchise since allegations of sexual harassment in Washington’s workplace arose in summer 2020. 

The Washington Post released an article in July 2020 that detailed workplace sexual harassment experienced by 15 former women employees within the franchise. Snyder also faces several accounts of misconduct, some of which are as follows:

  • The Post released another article in 2020 reporting that a former senior executive instructed employees to create a behind-the-scenes video for Snyder. The video included videos of partially naked team cheerleaders from an ’08 team swimsuit calendar shoot.
  • The Post previously reported that “lawyers and private investigators working on Snyder’s behalf took steps that potential witnesses … viewed as attempts to interfere with the NFL’s investigation.” The numerous alleged attempts to interfere included reaching a $1.6 million settlement with a former employee who described sexual misconduct by the co-owner and filing petitions to identify employees who had spoken to the Post.
  • Tiffani Johnston detailed during the roundtable multiple offensive moments including a time when Snyder allegedly sexually harassed her. Snyder denied the allegations in a statement. 

The NFL retained White to investigate the allegations against Snyder after the roundtable, which was first reported by the Post approximately two weeks after the gathering. According to the Post, White’s findings will be made public and Goodell “will determine any further actions to be taken by the league.”

Lawmakers have continued to ask the NFL to release the full findings of its investigation. In February, documents released by the committee raised questions about whether the league’s probe into the Commanders was truly independent.

It was revealed that not only did Washington agree to a written report being created on lawyer Beth Wilkinson’s findings and recommendations, but the league would not be able to release the findings without permission of Snyder, according to the documents. Here is a summary of what was found in the documents. 

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