Opinion | The NFL dropped the ball in the investigation of the Washington Football Team - The Washington Post

Washington Football Team owner Daniel Snyder will have to write the check for the investigation overseen by the National Football League into the team’s workplace culture and conduct. Whatever the cost, he is not likely to complain. He certainly got his money’s worth. No written report. No facts. No findings. No accountability. And no real consequences.

That Mr. Snyder will also have to pay a $10 million fine — pocket change for him — and that his wife ostensibly will take over day-to-day operations of the team are fitting final touches to the farce of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell promising to get to the bottom of the widespread allegations of sexual harassment, verbal abuse and bullying in the team’s front office under Mr. Snyder’s leadership. On Thursday, the NFL announced the conclusion of a year-long investigation into Mr. Snyder’s organization with a vapid news release that described the workplace of the team as “highly unprofessional” but provided no details on what independent counsel Beth Wilkinson had actually uncovered from a probe that included interviews with almost 150 people.

It turns out that the NFL didn’t request a written report from Ms. Wilkinson. It received her findings orally, supposedly because of the “sensitivity” of the allegations but making it all the easier to cover up what was found. Did Ms. Wilkinson, an attorney with a stellar reputation, really think this was a good idea? Could she have insisted on more transparency as a condition of her work? . She has declined to respond to our inquiries.

Mr. Snyder hired Ms. Wilkinson last July after The Post’s Will Hobson and Liz Clarke detailed the sexual harassment and verbal abuse that 15 women said they experienced while working for or reporting on the team. The NFL took over the investigation after The Post’s revelations of more horrific behavior — including allegations about the production of a video of lewd outtakes of a cheerleaders’ photo shoot for the enjoyment of Mr. Snyder and other executives.

Had it not been for the work of The Post’s reporters and the courage of the women to tell their painful stories,the abuse would have stayed hidden. That seems to have been Mr. Snyder’s goal as he stonewalled reporters, made employees sign nondisclosure agreements and sicced team lawyers on Ms. Wilkinson to prevent her from disclosing a confidential settlement that appears to have involved troubling allegations about Mr. Snyder’s own behavior. It’s with that history in mind that one must read Mr. Snyder’s statement of apology in which he expresses “great remorse for the people who had difficult, even traumatic, experiences.” In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he seemed to suggest the problems were a result of him often being distant from the management of the franchise, an assertion that the many coaches he has hired and fired during the two decades of owning the team might take issue with. “We need to be involved, we want to be involved,” chimed in his wife and newly named CEO, Tanya Snyder.

The scandal about the toxic work culture has caused the team to usher in what seem to be positive reforms, but if the problems are rooted, as they appear to be, in the person at the top, how much will really change? Sadly, that key question is one that Mr. Goodell and the other NFL owners had no interest in confronting.

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July 03, 2021 at 07:00PM
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Opinion | The NFL dropped the ball in the investigation of the Washington Football Team - The Washington Post
"Opinion" - Google News
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