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Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington NFL team, is vowing to bring a “new culture” to the team after explosive allegations from the Washington Post that included 15 former female employees and two journalists who covered the team accusing team staffers of sexual harassment and verbal abuse.
The news comes on the same week that the team announced it would be dropping the controversial Redskins name and logo.
After the allegations came to light, Snyder released a statement responding to the damning reports of the toxic environment inside of the organization.
“The behavior described in yesterday’s Washington Post article has no place in our franchise or society,” Snyder said in a statement. “This story has strengthened my commitment to setting a new culture and standard for our team, a process that began with the hiring of Coach Rivera earlier this year. Beth Wilkinson and her firm are empowered to do a full, unbiased investigation and make any and all requisite recommendations.
“Upon completion of her work, we will institute new policies and procedures and strengthen our human resources infrastructure to not only avoid these issues in the future but most importantly create a team culture that is respectful and inclusive of all.”
While Snyder was not accused of sexual harassment himself, he was described as a person who belittled senior employees. There was also a report that Snyder would tease former president of business operations Dennis Green for being a cheerleader in college and would make him do cartwheels at the end of executive staff meetings.
Former director of pro scouting Alex Santos, former assistant director of pro scouting, Richard Mann II, and longtime play-by-play announcer Larry Michael all left the franchise once allegations were raised. Santos and Mann were fired, while Michael abruptly retired.
With the franchise in the spotlight as we wait for its rebranding, Snyder and company will continue to be under high levels of scrutiny — and rightfully so.
