fbpx
Skip to main content

Washington Football Team faces more alarming allegations, including threat from Daniel Snyder

Donald Wells, who worked for Snyder as the director of the cheerleading squad from 1997-2009, detailed a moment when Snyder allegedly threatened him.

[brid video=”661787″ player=”23231″ title=”NFL%20Rumors%20Potential%20landing%20spots%20for%20Washington%20QB%20Dwayne%20Haskins” duration=”83″ description=”The Washington Football Team’s decision to bench second-year quarterback Dwayne Haskins ahead of its Week 5 game against the Los Angeles Rams was not necessarily a surprise. Rumors leading up to the decision from first-year head coach Ron Rivera indicated that this might end up being the case.With that said, Haskins is now currently No. 3 on the Washington depth chart. With Kyle Allen starting on Sunday, Alex Smith backed him up. Haskins himself was inactive. From starting quarterback to inactive in the matter of days. It really is a crazy situation in D.C. If Haskins is moved, here’s a look at his best possible landing spots.” uploaddate=”2020-10-16 18:18:25″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/thumb/661787_t_1602872320.png” contentUrl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/sd/661787.mp4″]

Amid another ugly season on the field, the Washington Football Team and owner Daniel Snyder are now facing even more alarming allegations off the field against the organization.

Following an alarming report in July from The Washington Post, detailing a toxic culture of sexual harassment inside the organization, Washington again finds itself at the center of more troubling accusations.

New allegations emerge about mistreatment, toxic culture of Washington Football Team

In an ongoing chronicle revealing the toxic culture of Snyder’s organization, The Washington Post has continued to releasing damning allegations about Snyder’s team. The latest came on Friday, with new information detailing the issues in Washington.

The focus is once again on the organization’s treatment of the cheerleaders. The New York Times spoke to several of the team’s former cheerleaders in 2018, detailing multiple incidents of sexual misconduct, harassment and intimidation. Since then, more former cheerleaders and team employees have come forward to detail their experiences with Snyder’s organization.

Donald Wells, who worked for Snyder as the director of the cheerleading squad from 1997-2009, detailed a moment when Snyder allegedly threatened him.

“You better keep them skinny with big t–s or I’ll f—ing kill you,” Wells says Snyder told him during a charity event in 2004.

Wells told The Washington Post that he only felt comfortable coming forward after learning Snyder allegedly had another team employee splice together lewd videos of the cheerleader for him. Snyder has denied the allegations and the club hired a prominent attorney to investigate its culture over the years before the WaPo released its first story.

Under Snyder’s direction, the organization reportedly had a strict moral code for the cheerleaders that explicitly forbade them from taking part in what the club deemed “tasteless” videos or from dating players.

Not only did the cheerleaders often feel violated and harassed by the organization, but the overall poor treatment extended to their work hours and pay. As detailed in the story, Washington’s cheerleaders only earned $75 for each home game until five years ago, with the women often working up to 12-hour shifts.

The cheerleaders were also required to sell the team’s annual swimsuit calendar, with a quota reportedly set for at least 50 calendars. If they fell short of the mark, the multi-billion dollar organization would have to pay the team back for the unsold calendars. For some women making around $1,000 per year from the team, being required to pay back hundreds of dollars was even more costly.

Washington Football Team Cheerleaders
Dec 15, 2019; Landover, MD, USA; A Washington Redskins cheerleader dances on the field during a timeout against the Philadelphia Eagles in the first quarter at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

While Washington gave women the option of whether or not to pose topless or in body paint for the calendar shoot, there were allegedly consequences if they chose not to do it. As one former cheerleader told The Washington Post, she wasn’t given her own month on the calendar after refusing to dress the way the organization preferred.

The organization would send the cheerleaders to serve as entertainment for corporate sponsors and even allegedly sent them to private yacht parties and homes. Furthermore, the calendar shoot was turned into a revenue-generating opportunity, with fans allowed to potentially buy access to watch the photoshoot in 2006-’07.

Minority team stakeholders Frederick Smith and Dwight Schar have reportedly pushed for Snyder to sell the team, but the expectation remains he will continue to remain in control until eventually passing it down in the family.

Mentioned in this article:

More About: