Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder could be in even more hot water with the NFL. On the very same day that Washington announced that it was conducting an outside investigation into allegations of sexual harassment on the part of the embattled owner, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell made his own statement.
Goodell conducted his annual State of the League press conference with reporters ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl LVI matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals. In said presser, the commissioner made some news.
“”We’ll do an investigation. We’ve said from Day One that we will look into this. … I do not see any way a team can do its own investigation of itself. That’s something we would do and we would do with an outside expert that would help us come to the conclusion of what the facts were, what truly happened, so we can make the right decision from there. We’ll treat that seriously.”
Roger Goodell on Daniel Snyder investigation (February 9, 2022)
It was earlier this month that the U.S. House of Representatives’ Oversight Committee held a discussion on allegations of widespread workplace misconduct under the leadership of Daniel Snyder in Maryland.
Said roundtable included direct allegations of sexual harassment on the part of Snyder levied by former employee Tiffani Johnston. The allegations were widespread in nature, including testimony from six former members of the organization.
From our report last week.
“Former Washington cheerleader and director of marketing, Melanie Coburn, backed up these allegations. She claims that the videos were ‘secretly made’ as ‘essentially soft-porn video, soundtracked to Daniel Snyder’s favorite bands.’ In the discussion with the committee, Coburn alleges she was invited to sleep at the owner’s home in Colorado after a drunken ‘awards trip’ dinner. She was allegedly asked to stay in the basement ‘because the men had invited prostitutes back.'”
Sportsnaut report (February 3, 2022)
Will Daniel Snyder be forced to sell the Washington Commanders?
Considered one of the most divisive figures around the NFL, there’s been some who have long been calling for Snyder to sell the Commanders. For good reason.
The government-led discussion from last week stems from broader allegations of sexual misconduct within the Washington organization under Snyder since he purchased the team back in 1999. Now that there’s direct allegations against the billionaire, the NFL might be forced to take action pending its investigation into the matter.
Remember, it was just back in 2017 that then-Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson was forced out of that role due to similar allegations of workplace misconduct being levied in his direction.
A similar end result could be in the cards here, too.
As for the allegations, Johnston’s attorney released a statement agreeing with the NFL’s decision to investigate the matter.
“Apparently the NFL also recognized how absurd it was to think Dan Snyder could investigate himself,” Johnston’s attorney, Lisa Banks, said in a statement. “We await communication from the NFL about whether it intends to undertake this investigation independently, and without any common interest agreement with Snyder. If the investigation is truly independent, and the NFL commits to make the findings public, my clients will be happy to participate.”