“Riverboat” Ron Rivera, the new head coach of the NFL assaulted Washington Redskins, is asking for patience as the team seeks to transform after the sexual harassment allegations and literally searches for his new identity after vowing to drop his controversial name.
“We are trying to create a new culture here,” he told the Washington Post, which broke the news of the allegations. “We hope that people understand that they need to judge us about where we are and where we are going, rather than where we have been.”
After the report was released, Rivera told ESPN’s John Keim that the team’s new direction would involve reforming the culture from within.
15 FEMALE EX-EX REDSKINS EMPLOYEES CLAIM SEXUAL HARASSMENT, BOMBSHELL REPORT SAYS
“The most important thing is that we have to move forward from this and make sure that everyone understands that we have policies that we will follow and that we have an open-door policy without compensation,” he said. “Also, my daughter works for the team and I am sure I will not allow any of this.”
Team owner Dan Snyder hired a local law firm to review the team’s culture and conduct in response to allegations of sexual harassment by more than a dozen former team employees.
The announcement came after the newspaper published a story on Thursday detailing the allegations of 15 women who said they had been sexually harassed or treated inappropriately when employed by the Redskins.
According to the newspaper, none of the women accused Snyder or former team president Bruce Allen of inappropriate behavior. But they reportedly believed that both men must have known about the problems.
Snyder and Allen rejected interview requests, according to the Post, but at least three team employees implicated by the women left the organization in recent weeks during the story’s reporting.
WASHINGTON REDSKINS FIRE TWO KEY EMPLOYEES SCOUTING: REPORT
Rivera, who spoke to the newspaper, did not discuss the firings of two of them. The third reportedly withdrew hours after the Post informed club officials of the allegations against him.
“The Washington Redskins soccer team takes employee behavior problems seriously,” the team said in a statement. “While we do not speak publicly about specific employee situations, when new conduct allegations are made that are contrary to these policies, we address them promptly.”
According to the report, the team also moved to strengthen its human resources department last year.
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And the NFL franchise is also looking for a new name and logo after major backers have started pushing for change after years of criticism.
Fox News’ Daniel Canova and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
