It was only a matter of time before the NFL had enough of Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder. With the entire country focused on the Super Bowl this week, the NFL is in the spotlight, which means some of the league’s biggest issues are also under the microscope.
There is no bigger issue in the NFL right now than what’s happening with the Commanders. Congress has pressured the NFL and Washington to release documents related to Beth Wilkinson’s investigation into the toxic workplace culture that existed in Washington for most of Snyder’s tenure as owner.
New disturbing allegations against Snyder emerged last week. On Wednesday, the NFL released a statement saying it will oversee a thorough and independent investigation into the latest claims. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell spoke on the topic Wednesday evening.
On Thursday, Congress received a letter from the NFL, written by the league’s attorneys and sent to Rep. Carol Maloney of New York and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois. Maloney is the chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
That letter, well, it was a bombshell. The NFL said Washington was blocking access to more than 100,000 documents related to the investigation. Remember when Goodell and other NFL owners were said to be colluding with Snyder to prevent the release of the documents?
As expected, the tables have turned. Goodell and the NFL are tired of defending Snyder. Yes, this is risky because if the documents are released, and Snyder is forced out, they know he will come after Goodell and the 31 other owners.
The NFL has stood firm in defending Snyder in the form of self-preservation. There were over 650,000 emails Wilkinson and her team provided to the NFL that “raised issues beyond the scope” of the investigation into Washington.
You don’t think Goodell, other owners, team executives, and coaches are a little nervous right now? We’ve already seen Jon Gruden go down. Each team’s owners and executives talk to one another frequently, and it’s not always about football.
I have questions. If we were told there were over 650,000 emails involved in the investigation in October, where are the 109,000 documents coming from now? Are they a part of the 650,000? If so, why is Washington only blocking 109,000? Also, why didn’t the NFL say the Commanders were blocking access to all 650,000 emails/documents?
Perhaps they aren’t related. That would mean there is even more out there regarding this investigation that could be big trouble for the entire league.
In the letter, the NFL said it had tried to obtain the 109,000 documents from the Wilkinson Stekloff firm, but the firm refused due to concerns that Snyder or the team would sue. The letter stated the NFL requested Washington to provide consent to the firm to release the documents; however, the team has refused to do so repeatedly.
The team vehemently denied those claims in a statement:
“The Commanders have never prevented the NFL from obtaining any non-privileged documents and will not do so in the future,” Jordan Siev, an attorney for team owner Daniel Snyder, said in a statement via the Washington Post.
There is no good guy here. For Snyder and the NFL, it’s all about covering your own backside. That means throwing one another under the bus, precisely what we are seeing.
BREAKING: NFL sent this letter to the House Committee on Oversight that the Washington Commanders, not the league, are impeding the committee’s access to many documents related to the investigation of the team @wusa9 #TakeCommand
More: https://t.co/PZG6tX8KbJ pic.twitter.com/2oR47u3JFu
— Darren M. Haynes (@DarrenMHaynes) February 10, 2022
