Attorneys for more than 40 former Commanders employees have asked NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to add a provision to the pending sale of the franchise that would bar current owner Daniel Snyder from suing accusers who participated in the several misconduct investigations surrounding Snyder and the organization. The Washington Post was the first to report this story. Here’s what you need to know:
- A group led by Josh Harris has agreed to purchase the franchise for $6.05 billion and the bid has been sent to the NFL.
- In the letter sent to Goodell, attorneys asked that the provision be added as a condition of the sale.
- Attorneys say this is a concern for their clients “given Mr. Snyder’s well-earned reputation for being vindictive and litigious.”
- The proposed deal already includes language to partly indemnify Snyder for future litigation stemming from the many pending investigations into his tenure, a person close to Harris told The Athletic.
What the letter says
“Although we are confident that any such litigation by Mr. Snyder would be meritless — as the women and men involved in the investigations did nothing more than accurately and honestly share their experiences working for the team — the emotional, financial and professional toll on these individuals to defend against even a baseless lawsuit would be incalculable.”
Backstory
Snyder bought the team and FedEx Field in 1999, launching a tenure some consider the worst ownership in professional sports, beset by shoddy play on the field and scandal off of it. The league fined the team $10 million in July 2021 and temporarily banned Snyder from the club following findings of a toxic culture at the team, including rampant sexual harassment.
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The league is also awaiting findings of the Mary Jo White report on investigations into whether Snyder harassed a female employee, and if the team hid revenue from the other 31 clubs.
Snyder also had a vitriolic legal battle with his former partners, whom the team owner accused of dirty tricks, including charging they had planted false stories linking him to sex trafficking. That dispute ended with Snyder buying their 40 percent stake out for $875 million.
The federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia is also probing bank fraud at the team, while the attorney general of Washington, D.C., is suing the team — and the NFL — for obscuring the sexual harassment at the club.
In November, weeks after Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay spoke out against Snyder, suggesting removal was an option, the Commanders put out a statement that the club had hired an investment bank to consider strategic options. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos instantly was considered the front-runner, but Snyder would not deal with him because of Bezos’ ownership of The Washington Post, which uncovered the sexual harassment at the team.
Required reading
(Photo: Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post via Getty Images)
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