Latest On Washington

Washington owner Dan Snyder issued the following statement on Friday regarding the recent report in which 15 former employees allege sexual harassment during their time with the team. 

“The behavior described in yesterday’s Washington Post article has no place in our franchise or society,” Snyder said. “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.”

The NFL also released a statement Friday regarding the situation involving the Washington franchise. 

“These matters as reported are serious, disturbing and contrary to the NFL’s values. Everyone in the NFL has the right to work in an environment free from any and all forms of harassment. Washington has engaged outside counsel to conduct a thorough investigation into these allegations. The club has pledged that it will give its full cooperation to the investigator and we expect the club and all employees to do so. We will meet with the attorneys upon the conclusion of their investigation and take any action based on their findings.”

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media mentioned that based on the NFL’s statement, “discipline could be coming to Washington.”

Snyder announced that he’s hired prominent attorney Beth Wilkinson to “conduct a thorough independent review of this entire matter and help the team set new employee standards for the future.”

The NFL later said they plan to defer to Wilkinson for this particular investigation, which is interesting considering that the league has previously conducted their investigations into serious league matters involving teams, as opposed to someone hired by the team in question. 

“Washington has engaged outside counsel to conduct a thorough investigation into these allegations. The club has pledged that it will give its full cooperation to the investigator and we expect the club and all employees to do so. We will meet with the attorneys upon the conclusion of their investigation and take any action based on their findings.”

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes that Wilkinson’s investigation raises plenty of questions.

Florio wonders how she’ll be able to conduct a full and complete investigation when most of the persons involved in the relevant events are no longer employed by the team and she will not have the power to subpoena them.

14 of the former female employees who spoke to The Post have nondisclosure agreements that prevented them from speaking on the record, so it remains to be seen whether these will be waived in order for Wilkinson to fully conduct her investigation.

There’s also the question of how her findings will ultimately impact Synder’s status as team owner and whether she would be able to render him unfit to manage the franchise.

We’ll have more regarding Washington as the news is available.