If Dan Snyder was part of any other group, he’d probably be forced to leave by now. But since this is the NFL, we’re just going to continue seeing fresh allegations about shady things the owner of the Washington Commanders is reportedly involved in for the foreseeable future.
The NFL’s handling of widespread sexual harassment allegations in the Washington franchise was so disconcerting and secretive that a congressional committee was launched to investigate it. Now, according to the Washington Post, that committee is also looking into “allegations of financial improprieties under Daniel Snyder’s ownership.”
These fresh allegations come after the committee reviewed over 80,000 pages of documents and interviewed key witnesses related to the NFL investigation.
A spokesperson for the House Committee on Oversight and Reform told WaPo that it “continues to investigate the hostile workplace and culture of impunity at the Washington Commanders as well as the National Football League’s inadequate response and lack of transparency. The Committee will follow the facts wherever they may lead.”
“The team is not aware of any investigation by the House Oversight Committee regarding financial matters, despite vague and unsubstantiated claims today by anonymous sources,” a Commanders spokesman told WaPo. “The team categorically denies any suggestion of financial impropriety of any kind at any time. We adhere to strict internal processes that are consistent with industry and accounting standards, are audited annually by a globally respected independent auditing firm, and are also subject to regular audits by the NFL. We continue to cooperate fully with the Committee’s work.”
This news comes as the NFL is in the midst of a second investigation into harassment claims against Snyder and the organization. The initial investigation ended with the team being fined $10 million and the announcement that Tanya Snyder, Dan’s wife, would take over day-to-day operations for an unspecified time. However, the league did not release the findings or ask for a written report of what the investigation uncovered, causing many to wonder if it was purposefully trying to shield Snyder and the league from further scrutiny.
The infamous email leaks that led to Jon Gruden’s firing and tarnished the reputations of former Washington GM Bruce Allen and ESPN’s Adam Schefter came from the investigation. Some speculated that Snyder himself was behind the leaks as a way to draw attention away from himself, especially as none of the leaked emails implicated him specifically in wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, although NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said this week that Dan Snyder remains uninvolved with the franchise, multiple reports have come forward showing that he is, in fact, still making decisions for the Commanders and is heavily involved in decision-making.
You would think that the writing is on the wall for the NFL to force Snyder to sell the Commanders or for the Synders to realize that the situation calls for them to be responsible, but Dan has never shown any sense of decency when it comes to these kinds of things. And the NFL may talk a big game about punishment and accountability but Roger Goodell ultimately works for Snyder and the other owners and it’s very unlikely they’ll make any serious changes unless required to by the government.
In the meantime, the latest allegations against Snyder certainly caused some reactions on social media.
[WaPo]
