NFL and Washington Commanders misled public about misconduct probe, House panel says

The NFL and the Washington Commanders misled the general public about an investigation into decades-long misconduct within the group’s office, in response to a report from the Home Oversight and Reform Committee launched Thursday after a yearlong probe.

The panel additionally mentioned the NFL and Commanders proprietor Daniel Snyder impeded its investigation into the matter. The lawmakers accused Snyder of giving “deceptive testimony,” as properly.

CNBC reached out to the NFL and the Commanders for remark.

Snyder is amongst these accused of sexual misconduct, who has been pursuing the doable sale of the group since final month. Snyder has pushed again on allegations towards him and the group.

The Commanders had employed lawyer Beth Wilkinson to research claims of sexual harassment inside the group’s group that had been revealed by The Washington Put up in 2020. The NFL informed her to “full a written report of its findings” surrounding the Commanders’ office tradition.

However then the league refused to launch the written report, as an alternative presenting their findings orally in an effort to “higher protect” witness anonymity and confidentiality.

The panel invited Snyder to testify at a public listening to, however he refused to take action. As a substitute, he sat for a non-public deposition, in response to the committee.

“Over the course of the deposition, he claimed greater than 100 occasions that he couldn’t recall the solutions to the Committee’s questions, together with primary inquiries about his function as Crew proprietor and a number of allegations of misconduct,” the report says. “Mr. Snyder additionally gave deceptive testimony about his efforts to intrude with the Wilkinson Investigation.”

The panel discovered that the NFL’s reasoning to guard confidentiality was deceptive to the general public because the league had beforehand cooperated in offering written studies for equally delicate investigations. In 2014, the NFL launched a 144-page written report associated to an investigation into the Miami Dolphins’ alleged tradition of harassment and bullying. In that case, it protected anonymity by redacting witness names and omitting sure particulars.

The Commanders additionally face a lawsuit from D.C. Legal professional Normal Karl Racine over an alleged secret cope with the NFL deal to deceive its followers.