In the aftermath of another bombshell Washington Post report alleging widespread sexual misconduct by the Washington Football Team, lawyers representing aggrieved clients have requested the NFL to step in.
NBC Sports Washington obtained a copy of the letter Attorney Lisa Banks sent to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell:
We represent over 12 former employees of the Washington Football Team who worked in different roles during different time periods, but all of whom share a similar experience: they and the many more who have contacted us in the last two days were each subjected to sexism, sexual harassment and abuse at the highest levels of the organization, including by owner Daniel Snyder. We are writing on behalf of our clients to request that you take immediate action against Mr. Snyder and the Washington Football Team, whose misconduct has long been known by the league, its fans and the public at large, but who for decades has escaped accountability.
In a statement on Thursday, Goodell said the NFL would wait for the outcome of an ongoing investigation by the Washington Football Team into sexual harassment and other misconduct inside the organization. Some question the validity of that investigation as the law firm contracted has been hired by the team. Goodell made clear he believed the attorneys could handle the job and any discipline or additional investigation would come upon the current inquiries conclusion.
For Banks and her clients, this is unsatisfactory.
"We call on the NFL to immediately initiate its own independent investigation of the Washington Football Team, and suspend Daniel Snyder pending the outcome of that investigation," Banks wrote in her letter obtained by NBC Sports Washington.
For his part, Snyder called many of the accusations in the Post story untrue and called the piece overall a "hit job."
The Washington Football Team put out a different statement that said the team was "deeply distressed by these terrible allegations and are committed to investigating them fully."
There is no public timetable on the internal investigation, though the external pressure certainly seems to be increasing.
MORE WASHINGTON FOOTBALL NEWS
- 'Hit job': Snyder on reports
- Goodell weighs in: What the commissioner says
- The details: What the Post story alleges
Lawyers ask NFL for 'immediate action' against Dan Snyder on behalf of sexually harassed clients originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
