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The House Oversight Committee has asked NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder to appear in front of a hearing on June 22.
Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, chair of the Oversight Committee, and committee member Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi sent letters Wednesday to Goodell and Snyder to request their presence at the hearing as part of the body’s long-running investigation into allegations the Commanders fostered a toxic workplace culture.
“We must have transparency and accountability, which is why we are calling on Mr. Goodell and Mr. Snyder to answer the questions they have dodged for the last seven months,” Maloney said in a news release. “The hearing will explore how Congress can act to prevent employers from silencing victims of workplace misconduct and ensure that what happened at the Commanders organization does not happen again.”
NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy confirmed to Front Office Sports in a statement that the league received the invitation and will respond “in a timely manner.”
“We received the Committee’s invitation this morning and will respond directly in a timely manner,” McCarthy continued. “The NFL has cooperated extensively throughout the committee’s lengthy investigation of the Washington Commanders, including by producing more than 460,000 pages of documents and responding to numerous questions in writing and in conversations with the Committee’s staff.”
Commanders head coach Ron Rivera declined to comment on the hearing when asked at a team workout on Wednesday, but the club issued a statement later in the day.
“The Commanders have assisted the NFL in cooperating with all prior requests from the House Oversight and Reform Committee,” the Commanders said.” We look forward to responding directly to the Committee’s invitation in a timely manner.”
The move wasn’t unexpected, and the committee gave no indication whether they’d subpoena either Goodell or Snyder if they don’t voluntarily appear before the committee. The letters to Goodell and Snyder didn’t reference the alleged financial irregularities the committee detailed in a letter to the Federal Trade Commission in April.
“The hearing will help inform legislative efforts to strengthen protections for employees across all workplaces, including legislative efforts to prevent and address toxic work environments and workplace investigation processes; strengthen protections for women in the workplace; and address the use of non-disclosure agreements to prevent the disclosure of unlawful employment practices, including sexual harassment,” the letters to both Goodell and Snyder stated.
The hearing is slated to be in front of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy chaired by Krishnamoorthi.
“For seven months, the Committee has been stonewalled by NDAs and other tools to evade accountability,” Krishnamoorthi said in a statement. “Mr. Snyder and Mr. Goodell need to appear before the Committee to address these issues and answer our questions about the pervasive workplace misconduct at the Washington Commanders, and how the NFL addressed these issues.”
“We are pleased the House Oversight Committee has invited Dan Snyder and Roger Goodell to testify in front of the committee,” lawyers Lisa Banks and Debra Katz, who represent more than 40 former Commanders employees, said in a statement. “We hope they will demonstrate the same courage as our clients and agree to testify. Dan Snyder and Roger Goodell have a lot to answer for.”
Asked what the committee should do if the requests to appear voluntarily are declined, Banks and Katz responded: “If Goodell or Snyder declines the invitation, we would hope that the committee will subpoena them to testify.”
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