Dan Snyder – When it comes to sports, it’s not rare to see a franchise sold for a large sum of money, but no owner has had as much of an influence as Dan Snyder.
The environment has been turbulent during his stint as owner of the Washington Commanders (then Washington Redskins).
With his recent demands with the team for sale, the scandals have generated talk of voting Snyder out as owner once more.
The news
The Washington Post reports that Dan Snyder and his counsel are asking guarantees from the NFL and fellow team owners that he would not face legal consequences after selling the franchise.
Snyder’s demands allegedly enraged other owners, triggering a resumption of discussions about voting to oust him as owner of the Washington Commanders.
They reportedly termed his action “absurd,” considering that the franchise is still under investigation.
A string of controversies
The US House Oversight and Reform Committee issued a 79-page report in December saying that the league and the Commanders covered up decades of sexual misbehavior.
Snyder was accused of fostering a “toxic” work atmosphere and a “culture of fear” in the report.
Furthermore, the committee determined that the organization was accountable for the following:
- Bullying
- Sexual harassment
- Other toxic conduct
Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-NY, issued 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, the Washington Commanders’ legal counsel, John Brownlee and Stuart Nash, issued 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 the ESPN article, Dan Snyder engaged detectives to investigate NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and other club owners.
The activity was purportedly intended to acquire information that may be used in the future.
In addition, Snyder allegedly remarked, “They can’t **** with me,” in a private discussion.
Dan Snyder slammed ESPN in a long email to NFL owners following the news.
“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.”
Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, is now attempting to mediate between Dan Snyder and other NFL club owners.
He is attempting to set up peace negotiations in order for Dan Snyder to sell the Washington Commanders and depart the NFL with no ill will.
Bids
Private bid bids are already being received by the Washington Commanders through Dan Snyder.
According to the New York Post, one bid is for $5.5 billion.
Dan Snyder, on the other hand, wants at least $6 billion.
Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos of Amazon was apparently interested in purchasing the Commanders but was not permitted to participate in the auction.
Snyder is said to be angry of Bezos, who owns the Washington Post and published pieces in addition to the sexual harassment allegations.
Image source: AP News
