OFFSIDES: House Oversight report details Commanders sexual harassment coverup
Disclaimer: I don’t really pay attention to any sportsball unless I absolutely have to, like when a foot-sportsball player with CTE is the Republican’s Senate nominee from Georgia or whatever.
When Twitter trends sportsball guy names every time a sports is on, I have no idea who any of them are.
Honestly, why isn’t there an all-sportsball app version of Twitter?
Doesn’t ESPN.com have chat rooms?
But I DEFINITELY will pay attention when I hear about a terrible sportsball guy who lied to Congress to cover up sexual harassment and other awful things in his workplace.
And that’s what Dan Snyder, aka the NFL’s scummiest owner, did in the name of covering up decades of all kinds of inappropriate behavior at the offices of the newly-renamed Washington Commanders.
The Democratic-led (for a few more weeks, sigh) House Oversight Committee has just wrapped up its 14-month investigation into the hostile workplace environment created by Snyder and the Commanders (referred to in their investigation as “The Team”), which they say “perpetuated by a culture of fear instilled by the Team’s owner.”
The Washington Post reported Thursday that Snyder “evaded questions by saying more than 100 times that he did not know or could not recall information and gave ‘misleading’ answers when he testified remotely in July.”
What’s that, you ask? A team that kept its incredibly racist name for way too long has an owner who’s willing to perjure himself instead of admitting he happily oversaw a toxic work environment for decades? SAY NOT SO.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell testified in June that he wasn’t made aware of the toxic culture and Snyder’s behavior until 2020, despite a sexual misconduct lawsuit that had been settled in 2009.
There was also some mishegoss with leaked emails from then-Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden.
Commanders General Manager Bruce Allen testified that the NFL’s Senior Vice President, Lisa Friel, told him that the Commanders leaked Gruden’s emails, which contained racist, homophobic and misogynistic language.
The scandal around those leaks led to Gruden’s resignation in October 2021.
An investigation revealed “the NFL’s shameless efforts to cover up the wrongdoing and protect Mr. Snyder at all costs,” said attorneys Lisa Banks and Debra Katz, who represent more than 40 former team employees, according to Mark Maske and Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post.
Outgoing Oversight Committee Chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY, and pour a big one out for this Shero at some point, please) released a press statement regarding the final report:
“Today’s report reflects the damning findings of the Committee’s year-long investigation and shows how one of the most powerful organizations in America, the NFL, mishandled pervasive sexual harassment and misconduct at the Washington Commanders,” Rep. Maloney said.
This report is a wake-up call and a call to action: it is time for those in power to step up and protect workers across America.
READ Chair @RepMaloney's statement: pic.twitter.com/tzzj0Xv5X6
— Oversight Committee (@OversightDems) December 8, 2022
Entitlement and sportsball seem to go hand-in-glove, don’t they?
As someone who worked as a server at the sports-themed All-Star Cafe in New York City’s Times Square in the late 90s, I can tell you too many stories about men who felt entitled to touch anyone they wanted just because they could hit, throw, and catch balls.
I sure learned a lot about sportsball today!
Speaking of balls, I want to bleach my eyeballs after learning all of this.
Read the Committee’s full report here, and check Twitter’s reaction to the latest sportsball scandal.
Commanders owner Dan Snyder was mentioned by House Democrats as the need for this legislation. Story to come. https://t.co/LsXHka9nZf
— A.J. Perez (@byajperez) December 7, 2022
House Oversight Committee concludes investigation into Commanders workplace culture and Dan Snyder: "sexual
harassment, bullying, and other toxic conduct pervaded the workplace at the Washington
Commanders and were perpetuated by a culture of fear instilled by the Team’s owner." pic.twitter.com/7Ek0wBQqYV— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) December 8, 2022
Dan Snyder claims not to have email. Amazing 😂 pic.twitter.com/jDzceNwKJn
— McNeil (@Reflog_18) December 8, 2022
Dan Snyder wrote to the league and owners in response to our story that he “would never” think to put private eyes on them.
Bruce Allen, under oath:https://t.co/1dHloPxFiB pic.twitter.com/jCYbots7EA— Seth Wickersham (@SethWickersham) December 8, 2022
