Document shows Snyder could have say in Wilkinson Report release originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
A new document obtained by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform indicates that Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder could have a say on whether findings from the investigation into Washington's hostile workplace environment are released publicly.
According to the "Common Interest Agreement" obtained by members of the committee, the NFL and the then-Washington Football Team agreed not to share any exchanged information or documents during lawyer Beth Wilkinson's exploration of the club's culture. With that in mind, Snyder might have been able to prevent the league from releasing results of Wilkinson's report.
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The "Common Interest Agreement" was signed in September 2020 soon after the NFL took over the investigation that Wilkinson started.
The committee also obtained an engagement letter from August 2020 that shows that Wilkinson's firm planned to assemble a written report based on its findings. After the league stepped in, though, Wilkinson was tasked by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell with presenting those findings orally, per the committee.
"You have claimed that the NFL did not release Ms. Wilkinson's findings in order to protect the 'security, privacy and anonymity' of the more than 150 witnesses who courageously spoke to Ms. Wilkinson and her team," the committee's Chairs wrote in a letter to Goodell on Friday. "The Committee's investigation and the NFL's own legal documents raise serious doubts about this justification."
On Thursday, the committee held a roundtable featuring six former Washington employees and heard those employees' stories of the "unavoidable" harassment they experienced during their time with the team.
One employee, Tiffani Johnston, made a new allegation directly against Snyder, saying he put her hand on her thigh during a work dinner and then tried to push her into his limousine later that same night before a colleague intervened.
In the letter to Goodell, Chairwoman Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, D-N.Y. and Chairman Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill. requested that the commissioner and the league release the findings from the Wilkinson Report and all documents that were used in the investigation by Feb. 14.
Snyder released this statement on Thursday following the roundtable's conclusion.
"I have acknowledged and apologized multiple times in the past for the misconduct which took place at the Team and the harm suffered by some of our valued employees. I apologize again today for this conduct, and fully support the people who have been victimized and have come forward to tell their stories. In response to learning about incidents like these in 2020, the Team, on its own, undertook to revamp its policies, procedures and personnel. Real change has been made and employees of the Team have confirmed the vast improvement in Team culture over the past 18 months."
The statement continued: "While past conduct at the Team was unacceptable, the allegations leveled against me personally in today’s roundtable – many of which are well over 13 years old – are outright lies. I unequivocally deny having participated in any such conduct, at any time and with respect to any person. Tanya and I will not be distracted by those with a contrary agenda from continuing with the positive personnel and cultural changes that have been made at the Team over the past 18 months, and those that we continue to make both on and off the field."
Should the league decline to deliver the materials that the committee called for, the committee will seek "alternate means" of acquiring them.
