According to a new report from ESPN, three former minority owners of the Washington Commanders have accused Dan Snyder of committing bank fraud in securing a $55 million loan without board approval, and a federal grand jury is now looking into the allegation. And to make matters worse, it looks like Roger Goodell knew about all of it.
According to ESPN, Roger Goodell knew about the loan and the three partners asked the NFL and the commissioner to investigate the secret loan, but the league did not.
“During a confidential arbitration, the former partners demanded that the NFL investigate the origin of Snyder’s loan. But neither NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, whose signature granted league approval for the team to take on the new debt, nor the NFL arbitrator investigated the partners’ allegation of financial wrongdoing, according to hundreds of pages of confidential NFL arbitration documents obtained by ESPN and more than a dozen interviews,” Don Van Natta Jr. wrote for ESPN.
ESPN reports that Goodell knew about the loan, and even signed the loan’s confirmation agreement on the same day it was approved.
“Goodell knew about the loan,” a source with firsthand knowledge of the matter told ESPN, “but the partners didn’t.”
Despite numerous requests for Goodell and NFL general counsel Jeffrey Pash to investigate the loans, they refused, saying the minority owners’ only option was to reach an agreement to sell their shares to Snyder.
“Goodell and Pash were not interested in talking about those allegations or any allegations between the parties,” the source said.
It’s an absolute bombshell report, and the NFL world had plenty to say about it.
Roger Goodell knew about the loan, which was kept secret from Washington's minority owners. When they raised questions, the NFL basically forced them to sell their stakes in the team.
Snyder didn't have the cash to pay, so he… got another loan.
This is a crazy, crazy story. https://t.co/DQ3HtCBgpW
— Rob Tornoe (@RobTornoe) February 28, 2023
Roger Goodell and the NFL are once again in the crosshairs because of their continued relentless defense of (some say cover ups) Dan Snyder.
What do they get out of it? The team’s value and fan base is cratering. How much longer will they tolerate it?
— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) February 28, 2023
Dan Snyder looks extremely corrupt here, as usual, but it’s remarkable that Roger Goodell manages to look worse: signing off on an illegal loan, then covering up Snyder’s bank fraud and demanding that his angry minority partners sell their shares to him:https://t.co/MqjI9E42S5
— Mike Mitchell (@MikeMitchNH) February 28, 2023
A quick read through of @DVNJr article. Boyyyyyy it raises some questions about Roger Goodell.
At absolute best, Goodell is dumb and oblivious.
At absolute worst, Goodell helped Snyder commit fraud and protected him when everyone else started to find out#HTTC
— Denton Day (D-Day) (@TheDentonDay) February 28, 2023
https://twitter.com/KT_So_It_Goes/status/1630550765109493761?s=20
It remains to be seen what sort of impact it might have on Goodell’s status as the league’s commissioner or the potential sale of the Washington Commanders franchise.
[ESPN]
