Former Washington Football Team members who allegedly experienced sexism and harassment during their time with the team called Thursday for the suspension of majority owner Dan Snyder.
A letter addressed to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell requested that the league conduct its own investigation and stop Snyder until it is completed. The Washington Football Team hired Beth Wilkinson and her firm, Wilkinson Walsh, to conduct an independent evaluation of the allegations after they were first reported in The Washington Post.
Last month, more than a dozen women appeared in the newspaper claiming they were under siege while working for the team. The women said they were the subject of unwanted sexual remarks and were told to wear public clothing or flirt with clients.
The post reported Wednesday new allegations, alleging that a producer with the organization played unusual videos of the team’s cheerleaders together in 2008 and 2010, using performances in which the women’s body parts were accidentally exposed during a photoshoot.
One of the team’s former cheerleaders, Tiffany Bacon Scourby, was involved in both photo shoots. She told The Post she was “scared” and “nauseous” when she saw one of the videos.
Scourby also claimed that Snyder introduced her in 2004. Scourby claimed that Snyder approached her at a charity event and suggested that she join his friend in a hotel room so they could “get to know each other better.”
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Snyder published a statement following the Post’s report, which denied Scourby’s accusation, saying “This has never happened.” He criticized the newspaper for what he described as a “hit job” for reporting the old accusations.
“Ms. Scourby did not report this alleged incident to anyone on the team in 2004, in her 8 years as a cheerleader, or at any time in the past 16 years,” Snyder said in a statement.
Snyder also denied any knowledge of the 2008 and 2010 videos, saying the videos appeared “unauthorized or fraudulent”. Snyder said he was “too hands-off” as an owner.
The Washington football team did not immediately respond to a phone call or email asking for comment on the call for Snyder’s suspension.
Attorneys Lisa J. Banks and Debra S. Katz wrote the letter on behalf of more than 12 former employees who have taken over as clients.
“Daniel Snyder has been allowed to lead an organization that is riddled with misogyny, sexual harassment and routine abuse of female employees with impunity,” the letter told Goodell.
Banks and Katz, who represented Christine Blasey Ford in 2018 when she claimed that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her as a teenager, did not specify how many former employees she represents.
The lawyers representing the former employees said in their letter Thursday that Snyder’s leadership “condoned the misogyny, objectification and abuse that is deeply ingrained in the culture.”
“Our clients would like to participate in such an NFL investigation, but do not feel safe speaking to investigators hired by Mr. Snyder and trust the investigation that is currently untrustworthy,” the letter said.
The letter said former employees were afraid to come forward to investigators hired by the Washington Football Team because of Snyder’s “tendency to arm the legal system to punish accusers.”
Katz and Banks called on the NFL to release former employees from declaration agreements and claimed that the league has a responsibility to ensure a safe environment for all employees, including women.
“The time is long overdue for the NFL to police this kind of behavior and act decisively to punish those in its ranks, such as Daniel Snyder, who allow women to be repeatedly exploited and abused as a privilege of an empire. and powerful NFL team to be owner, “her letter said.
Goodell on Wednesday released a statement following the second wave of allegations in The Post, saying an “independent investigation” was underway.
“We condemn the unprofessional, disruptive and abusive behavior and workplace environment that is being accused in the report, which is completely contrary to our standards and has no place in the NFL,” Goodell said.
Katz and Banks said the investigation cited by Goodell was that it was conducted by the company hired by the Washington Football Team and that promise to oversee that investigation was “too bad and too late.”
The NFL did not immediately respond to a request for comment in response to the letter Thursday.
