Dan Snyder – It’s not uncommon to see a club sold for a big quantity of money in sports, but no owner has had as considerable an impact as Dan Snyder.
Throughout his tenure as owner of the Washington Commanders (then Washington Redskins), the situation has been volatile.
The controversies, combined with Snyder’s latest demands for the team’s sale, have sparked thoughts of voting Snyder out as owner once more.
The news
According to the Washington Post, Dan Snyder and his attorneys are seeking assurances from the NFL and fellow club owners that he would not suffer legal ramifications after selling the organization.
Snyder’s demands apparently infuriated other owners, resuming conversations of voting to remove him as owner of the Washington Commanders.
They allegedly called his actions “absurd,” given that the franchise is still being investigated.
A string of controversies
In December, the US House Oversight and Reform Committee produced a 79-page report alleging that the league and the Commanders covered up decades of sexual misconduct.
Snyder was accused of creating a “toxic” work environment and a “culture of fear” in the report.
The committee also ruled that the organization was responsible for the following:
- Bullying
- Sexual harassment
- Other toxic conduct
Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) made the following statement:
“Today’s report reflects the damning findings of the Committee’s yearlong investigation and shows how one of the most powerful organizations in America, the NFL, mishandled pervasive sexual harassment and misconduct at the Washington Commanders.”
Response
Meanwhile, John Brownlee and Stuart Nash, the Washington Commanders’ legal counsel, made the following statement:
“Those Congressional investigators demonstrate, almost immediately, that they were not interested in the truth, and were only interested in chasing headlines by pursuing one side of the story.”
“Today’s report is the predictable culmination of that one-sided approach.”
“There are no new revelations here,” the statement continued.
“The Committee persists in criticizing Mr. Snyder for declining to voluntarily appear at the Committee’s hearing last spring, notwithstanding Mr. Snyder’s agreement to sit, at a date chosen by the Committee, for an unprecedented 11 hours of questioning under oath.”
“The only two members of Congress who witnessed any part of that deposition, one Democrat and one Republican, both made public statements in the wake of the deposition characterizing Mr. Snyder’s answers as truthful, cooperative, and candid.”
“As is typical of the Committee, they have refused, despite our repeated requests to release the full transcript of Mr. Snyder’s deposition.”
“The Committee suggests that Mr. Snyder prevented witnesses from coming forward yet does not identify a single witness who did not come forward or who suffered a single adverse consequence for having done so.”
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Snyder bites back
According to ESPN, Dan Snyder hired investigators to look into NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and other team owners.
The exercise was ostensibly designed to gather information that may be utilized in the future.
In addition, Snyder allegedly said, “They can’t **** with me,” during a private conversation.
After the discovery, Dan Snyder lambasted ESPN in a lengthy communication to NFL owners.
“It is particularly shameful for ESPN to diminish the very real accomplishments of our President Jason Wright, who ESPN alleges was placed at the Commanders by the League and has no power to make real change,” Snyder wrote.
“I know you know this to be false. Unfortunately, ESPN ignored our efforts to correct the many falsehoods in their article before its publication.”
“There is one allegation in the ESPN article that I feel it is important to address immediately,” he continued.
“The article cited unnamed sources who said ‘They’ve been told that Snyder instructed his law firms to hire private investigators to look into other owners and Commissioner Goodell.'”
“That is patently false and intended to erode the trust and goodwill between owners that I take seriously.”
“I have never hired any private investigator to look into any owner or the Commissioner. I have never instructed or authorized my lawyers to hire any private investigator on my behalf for any such purpose. And I never would.”
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is currently seeking to arbitrate between Dan Snyder and other NFL team owners.
He’s seeking to broker a deal that will allow Dan Snyder to sell the Washington Commanders and leave the NFL with no ill feeling.
Bids
The Washington Commanders are already receiving private bid proposals through Dan Snyder.
One proposal is for $5.5 billion, according to the New York Post.
Dan Snyder, on the other side, demands a minimum of $6 billion.
Conversely, Amazon’s CEO Bezos was reportedly interested in acquiring the Commanders but was not allowed to participate in the auction.
Snyder is reportedly upset with Bezos, who owns the Washington Post and has published articles in addition to the sexual harassment charges.
Image source: SportsNet
