• Loading stock data...
Tuesday, October 7, 2025
Law

Commanders Owner Dan Snyder Allowed Toxic Culture, Report Finds

  • Commanders owner Dan Snyder was deposed as part of Congress’ investigation into his franchise.
  • Snyder announced last month he was exploring a sale of the team he purchased in 1999.
Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder looking upset while crossing arms on sideline of NFL game
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder contributed to “a culture of fear” within the franchise that contributed to a hostile workplace environment, according to the House Oversight Committee’s final report released on Thursday.

“Our report tells the story of a team rife with sexual harassment and misconduct, a billionaire owner intent on deflecting blame, and an influential organization that chose to cover this up rather than seek accountability and stand up for employees,” Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-New York) said in a statement. “To powerful industries across the country, this report should serve as a wake-up call that the time of covering up misconduct to protect powerful executives is over.”

Snyder announced Nov. 2 that he was exploring a potential sale of the team. Two sources with knowledge of the process told Front Office Sports that as recently as two weeks ago, Snyder was considering selling 20% or less of the team. 

But it’s widely believed around the league that Snyder will sell a controlling interest at the very least, with a likely total sale a likely outcome. Anything short would leave Snyder vulnerable to being the first owner in league history to be removed. 

“Committee Democrats’ investigation has had one goal since its inception: force Team owner Dan Snyder to give up the team,” the GOP side of the Oversight Committee wrote in a memo.

And the information unveiled by Congress could embolden the league owners to push harder for Snyder’s ouster.

“The results of the Committee’s investigation, as laid out in this report, are clear: sexual harassment, bullying, and other toxic conduct pervaded the workplace at the Washington Commanders and were perpetuated by a culture of fear instilled by the team’s owner,” the report stated. “The NFL, through the investigation conducted by [former assistant U.S. attorney Beth] Wilkinson, was aware that Mr. Snyder and other team executives not only failed to stop this misconduct but engaged in it themselves.”

The committee again took issue with common interest agreement entered into by the NFL and Snyder early in Wilkinson’s investigation that it claimed “prevented the NFL and the Commanders from releasing, without the other’s consent, any information exchanged between the team and the league during the investigation.”

NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy countered that portrayal in a statement to FOS.

“No individual who wished to speak to the Wilkinson firm was prevented from doing so by non-disclosure agreements,” McCarthy said. “And many of the more than 150 witnesses who participated in the Wilkinson investigation did so on the condition that their identities would be kept confidential. Far from impeding the investigation, the common interest agreement enabled the NFL efficiently to assume oversight of the matter and avoided the potential for substantial delay and inconvenience to witnesses.”

The report stated that in his deposition, Snyder “gave misleading testimony about his efforts to interfere” with the NFL’s first outside investigation, which included the use of private investigators.

The committee’s report also stated that Snyder “claimed more than 100 times that he could not recall the answers to the Committee’s questions, including basic inquiries about his role as Team owner and multiple allegations of misconduct.”

Attached to GOP’s memo were several homophobic and misogynistic email exchanges between former Commanders executive Bruce Allen, ReliaQuest Bowl (formerly known as the Outback Bowl) President Jim McVay, and former Raiders coach Bruce Allen.

The committee began its investigation in October 2021, days after email exchanges between former Commanders executive Bruce Allen and then-ESPN analyst Jon Gruden were published by The New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Gruden resigned as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders as a result of the racist, misogynistic and homophonic emails becoming public. 

Gruden alleged in a lawsuit that the NFL leaked the emails, something the league has denied. 

Washington, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine speaks to media after filing law suit against Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder

Washington AG Files Second Lawsuit Against Washington Commanders

Karl Racine alleges Commanders “unlawfully” held back ticket deposits in latest lawsuit.
November 17, 2022

The Oversight Committee focused on the toxic workplace issues that resurfaced with those emails. The Commanders were fined $10 million, and Snyder stepped aside from day-to-day duties with the team when the first outside NFL investigation concluded in July 2021. 

While Snyder remained an unpopular owner locally and former employees pushed for the NFL to disclose more about the outside probe led by Wilkinson, the Oversight Committee spawned a renewed focus on the franchise. 

  • The NFL tapped former SEC chair Mary Jo White to lead a second investigation, one that at first focused on allegations made by a former Commanders employee, Tiffani Johnson. Johnson alleged at a roundtable Oversight Committee hearing in February that Snyder put his hand on her inappropriately at a networking event. Snyder denied the allegation. 
  • Delving into details first reported by Front Office Sports, the Oversight Committee sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission in April that alleged “senior executives and the team’s owner, Daniel Snyder, may have engaged in a troubling, long-running, and potentially unlawful pattern of financial conduct.” Commanders lawyers called the allegations “uncorroborated and implausible” in response to the FTC. 
  • The FTC letter was also sent to the attorneys general in D.C., Virginia, and Maryland. D.C. filed two lawsuits against the Commanders in November. Maryland and the Commanders agreed to a $250,000 settlement. Virginia’s probe remains ongoing. 
  • The Department of Justice also has an investigation pending into the team over alleged financial improprieties. 

As pressure began to mount on Snyder over the summer, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was the lone witness to testify at an Oversight Committee hearing in June. Snyder was out of the country at the time. 

Snyder, after a lengthy back-and-forth between Snyder’s and the committee’s lawyers, they ultimately sat for a deposition in July. In August, Allen sat for his deposition. Both lasted more than 10 hours.

In his deposition, Allen said he called NFL counsel Lisa Friel about the leaked emails.

“We didn’t do it at the league office.,” Friel said, per Allen. “It came out of their side.”

Allen said Friel was “pointing a finger at the team.”

Beyond the many investigations and owners anonymously voicing concerns to FOS and other outlets, Snyder’s grasp of the franchise became shakier after Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay’s comments at the NFL owners’ meetings in October.

“I believe that there is merit to removing him,” Irsay said.

While all that was going on, not much was known about the progress of Congress’ investigation. 

A release of the final findings has been expected during this lame-duck session as the Oversight Committee — like the rest of the House of Representatives — will be controlled by the GOP over the next two years when the next session starts in January. 

Dan Snyder

The Downward Spiral of the Washington Commanders

Washington has lost the foothold it established pre-Snyder.
October 16, 2022

Rep. James Comer (R-Tennessee), the current ranking member who will be the next chair of the Oversight Committee, stated on Nov. 16 that noted the investigation is “over” once the next session starts.  

“The Democrats’ sham investigation into the Washington Commanders has been an egregious waste of taxpayer-funded resources,” the GOP members of the Oversight Committee said in its Thursday memo. “From the beginning, Committee Democrats weaponized their power and pushed a one-sided investigation into a private company with no connection to the federal government.”

Maloney lost her primary in a redistricted congressional district to another powerful democrat, Jerry Nadler. Maloney leaves Congress amid a House Ethics Committee investigation that focuses on if  “she solicited or accepted impermissible gifts associated with her attendance at the Met Gala.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Mark Sanchez Charged With New Felony in Indianapolis Case

The broadcaster and ex-NFL quarterback faces up to six years in prison.

NFL London Fans Get Partial Refunds After Ticket App Glitches

Fans experienced delays entering the Vikings-Browns game.

Bad Bunny, U.S. Officials Trade Barbs Over Super Bowl Halftime Show

DHS Secretary Noem attacks the choice, while Bad Bunny responds on SNL.

Mark Sanchez Faces Three Charges After Indy Stabbing Incident 

Mark Sanchez is charged after being stabbed in Indianapolis altercation.

Featured Today

Paul Cartier

Sports Organists Are Still Thriving in the Era of Raucous Arena Music

“When they walk out and they see a real organ guy, it’s like, ‘Wow.’”
Sep 27, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Jackson Chourio (11) rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the sixth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at American Family Field.
October 4, 2025

Milwaukee Moneyball: Brewers Are Beating MLB’s Deeper Pockets

Milwaukee is holding its own against big-budget competitors.
Kōloa Rum Company Rum Rusher
September 27, 2025

Panthers Bubbly, Jets Wine, Manning Whiskey: The Sports Booze Boom

A sommelier dives into the sports booze trend—and tries Jets wine.
Nov 17, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers fans wave Terrible Towels against the Baltimore Ravens during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium
September 26, 2025

Steelers’ Irish Roots Are Deeper Than NFL Dublin Game

The Steelers have history and the foundation for a future in Ireland.
Dec 2, 2022; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans former quarterbacks Mark Sanchez (left) and Matt Leinart watch from the sidelines during the Pac-12 Championship game against the Utah Utes at Allegiant Stadium.

Mark Sanchez, Fox Sports Sued Over Alley Fight That Turned Bloody

The high-profile incident took place Saturday night in Indianapolis.
Apr 16, 2025; Washington, DC, USA; FIFA Chief Football Officer Jill Ellis speaks during a FIFA Club World Cup press conference at Audi Field.
October 1, 2025

San Diego Wave Owners Sue Jill Ellis for Abandoning Team After Sale

Ellis allegedly broke a pledge by leaving for FIFA after the sale.
Jon Gruden
October 3, 2025

Jon Gruden’s Case Against NFL Gets Closer to Open Court

The Nevada Supreme Court ruled unanimously against the NFL’s appeal. 
Sponsored

How Jenny Just Is Shaping the Future of Sports Ownership

Jenny Just on bringing her investment experience to sports ownership.
Brian Flores
September 30, 2025

Brian Flores Asks Court to Halt NFL Arbitration

The war between Flores’s lawyers and an NFL arbitrator has heated up.
Oct 27, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans co-founder and former owner Janice McNair (left) sits with Texans chief executive officer Cal McNair and wife Hannah McNair in front of family members of Texans former player Andre Johnson (not pictured) during a ceremony at halftime of the game against the Indianapolis Colts at NRG Stadium.
September 29, 2025

NFL Sued for $100M Over Efforts to ‘Silence’ Brother of Texans Owner

Robert Cary McNair Jr. says the NFL helped remove him from roles.
Apr 11, 2025; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward Kris Murray (24) grabs a rebound during the second half against Golden State Warriors guard Buddy Hield (7) at Moda Center.
September 26, 2025

RAJ Sports Sues Panda Express Owners for Dumping Them in Blazers Bid

RAJ Sports says it led a group that sought to buy the Blazers.
Mar 26, 2025; San Francisco, CA, USA; Detail view of the logo and basketballs during NCAA Tournament West Regional Practice at Chase Center.
September 26, 2025

Judge Dismisses Multiple Claims in Transgender Participation Lawsuit

The lawsuit was brought in 2024 by conservative activist Riley Gaines and others.