Dan Snyder has been embroiled in so many scandals and controversies during his 21 years as owner of Washington’s NFL team that it’s more surprising if a week goes by without his name inflaming large segments of society.
The latest episode, a Washington Post expose, includes an allegation that outtakes from a calendar shoot featuring almost nude Washington cheerleaders were transferred on to a DVD for Snyder’s viewing pleasure. It also continues the Post’s reporting from earlier this month about the rampant sexual harassment and toxic team culture for which Snyder has served as conductor. Female interns subjected to endless inappropriate comments and treated like “fresh meat”. Snyder’s executive assistants being forced to make sure his paperclips were facing the same direction. The accusations go on and on.
At this point, it’s nearly impossible to keep track of all the reports of harassment and misogyny in the Washington organization, from the cheerleaders at a 2013 photo shoot in Costa Rica who were forced to go topless for invited sponsors, to media members who more recently had to navigate the murky waters of a relentlessly inappropriate (and recently fired) pro personnel director.
Snyder’s rap sheet also includes defending a racist nickname until the threat of lost corporate dollars finally spurred him to proper action, a litany of absurd lawsuits, and, of far less importance, being a godawful evaluator of anything having to do with football.
Yet for all of Snyder’s missteps, nothing has ever stuck except for a rotten reputation and the shame of having to release soulless statements with vows to change a toxic culture that he created and has always condoned.
But could the latest egregious act do the trick? Could Dan Snyder, the most hated team owner in American professional sports, actually be ousted?
A noticeable and key differentiator in the latest Post report is the distinct possibility of Snyder’s direct involvement. In addition to being the recipient of cheerleader soft porn, Snyder is also accused of attempting to pimp out one of the team’s cheerleaders to one of his high school friends at a charity event. “We have a hotel room,” Snyder is accused of saying to former cheerleader Tiffany Scourby. “Why don’t you and Tony [also the team ophthalmologist] go upstairs and get to know each other better?”
The NFL, which has turned a blind eye to Snyder in the past, issued a searing statement Wednesday: “We strongly condemn the unprofessional, disturbing and abhorrent behavior and workplace environment alleged in the report which is entirely inconsistent with our standards and has no place in the NFL.”
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell added that the league “would review the findings” of an independent investigation and “take any appropriate action at that time.”
Snyder, for his part, denies the latest allegations. “I want to unequivocally state that this never happened,” Snyder said of the Scourby’s claims. “Furthermore, I do not have any knowledge of the 10-year-old videos referenced in the story. I did not request their creation, and I never saw them.”
In the wake of the previous Post report on Washington’s culture of toxic masculinity, the organization underwent a shakeup. Multiple employees were fired and the team added a few hires, most notably Julie Donaldson to head up broadcast and media and Jason Wright, the team’s first Black president. They join a classy head coach in Ron Rivera, who is a model of inclusion and diversity.
While these hires and the name change signal a new era for Washington, it’s hard to have full buy-in when Snyder still sits at the top. When Snyder makes a decent decision about anything, it’s almost always in the name of self-preservation.
It’s that inner fight to keep hold on power, that instinct to call a lawyer when he stubs a toe, to ignore cries of racism that will make Snyder especially hard to oust.
Former Raiders CEO Amy Trask says this is the big distinction between Snyder and the former Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, who sold the team in 2018 amidst sexual harassment allegations. Trask also points out that ridding the NFL of Snyder is not a decision that can be made by Goodell alone, even if Section 8.13 of the NFL’s constitution and bylaws allow him to determine if an owner is guilty of conduct detrimental to the league. It’s also worth noting that even if Snyder is forced to sell, he’ll collect around $3bn on a team he bought for $750m.
“Whether or not one believes the league should or should not seek to remove Dan Snyder as an owner it would be extremely difficult for the league to do so,” Trask told the Guardian. “The league is not an independent standalone entity, it is a collection of 32 teams. As such, it is those teams that will ultimately determine whether Dan will be required to divest himself of his holding in his team.”
The NFL is attempting to embark on a new era when it comes to societal awareness. There are programs to create pipelines in football operations for women and people of color. The commissioner has publicly said that Black lives matter and finally apologized to Colin Kaepernick for ignoring him and his message four years ago and letting him drift into the football afterlife. Whether authentic or not, the league is desperately trying to craft a new image of inclusiveness and respect. It’s a world in which Dan Snyder does not belong, but may well survive.
