When a story broke from The Washington Post earlier this summer outlining a toxic culture of sexual harassment within the Washington Football Team, there were some immediate calls for owner Daniel Snyder to sell the franchise.
These calls have not quieted down since, leading to speculation that Snyder himself could be forced to sell the franchise. This latest piece of information from The Post might now add to that.
New allegations point to further issues with Washington Football Team
As the Washington Football Team was filming “Beauties on the Beach,” a swimsuit video involving the organization’s cheerleaders, something far more sinister was apparently happening behind the scenes.
Little did the cheerleaders know that then senior vice president Larry Michael allegedly ordered the production of another more NSFW video that ran for 10 minutes and showed the cheerleaders in more compromising situations. The beneficiary? According to allegations, Snyder himself.
“The lewd outtakes were what Larry Michael, then the team’s lead broadcaster and a senior vice president, referred to as “the good bits’ or ‘the good parts,’ according to Brad Baker, a former member of Michael’s staff. Baker said in an interview that he was present when Michael told staffers to make the video for team owner Daniel Snyder,” The Washington Post reported Wednesday.
Snyder and the Washington Football Team could not be reached for comment when confronted with the allegations. Michael denied said allegations.
As part of a broader investigation into the culture in D.C., The Post interviewed more than 100 current and former employees. This coupled with review of internal documents “show that, in his 21 years of ownership, Snyder has presided over an organization in which women say they have been marginalized, discriminated against and exploited,” the report read.
A total of 25 women, some of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity due to nondisclosure agreements or fear of reprisal, told The Post that they experienced sexual harassment while working for the franchise. That allegedly included bosses, colleagues and even some players.
One of the individuals specifically accuses Mr. Snyder of humiliating her. During a charity event back in 2004, former cheerleader Tiffany Bacon Scourby claims that the owner suggested that she join a close friend of his in a hotel room so they “could get to know one another better.”
The stories continue from there, and paint a picture of a toxic environment within the Washington Football Team’s hierarchy during Snyder’s two-plus decade tenure.
This obviously is not going to be the end of it. And in reality, one has to wonder whether Snyder will simply be forced to sell the organization should more stories of this ilk come out.