The Washington Commanders continue to find themselves on the radar of D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine.
It was last week that Racine filed a civil consumer protection lawsuit against the NFL franchise, the league and other parties “for colluding to deceive residents of the District of Columbia” regarding investigations into the team’s workplace culture.
Said announcement was met by a swift rebuke from the Commanders in a press release that seemed to come from a parody website more than anything else.
A week later, and the Commanders are again being sued by Racine and his office. This time, it comes under the umbrella of allegations that embattled owner Daniel Snyder and Co. schemed to cheat fans out of ticket money.
“(This) is yet another example of egregious mismanagement and illegal conduct by Commanders executives who seem determined to lie, cheat, and steal from District residents in as many ways as possible,” D.C. Attorney General Attorney General in announcing lawsuit against the Washington Commanders, via the Associated Press.
This comes on the heels of the House Oversight Committee sending a letter to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) with evidence of financial wrongoing on the part of the Commanders’ franchise under Snyder.
Related: Candidates to buy the Washington Commanders
Daniel Snyder’s pending sale of the Washington Commanders will not end lawsuits
It’s important to note that Snyder recently put the Commanders up for sale. The expectation is that something will get done before the start of the 2023 season with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos being the biggest name linked to buying the NFL franchise.
Despite this, there’s absolutely no reason to believe that the lawsuits filed by Racine and his office will simply go away.
All of this comes as the House is set to end its investigation into the Commanders’ workplace misconduct allegations once Republicans take control of the lower chamber in January. Congressman James Comer (R) of Kentucky said on Wednesday that the investigation is over. The Commanders responded to that news in kind.
“We applaud Rep. Comer for his leadership in putting an end to the investigation into a private company, which has been correctly characterized by sitting members of Congress as a ‘farce’ and ‘an abuse of power,’” Washington Commanders attorneys John Brownlee and Stuart Nash said in a statement.
Despite this, the Commanders are not yet out of the woods. The justice department, federal government and local DA offices all have different roles to play in the widespread investigation into the Commanders.
It also must note that the House Oversight Committee is expected to issue a release on its findings before the Democrats officially cede power to their counterparts early next year.