The NFL hit Dan Snyder’s Washington Football team with an enormous $10 million fine for its serially abusive and discriminatory workplace on Thursday. The penalty is noteworthy on its own — possibly the largest in American sports history — and for what it’s not.
The Snyder family still has complete control of the team. And as even the most league-friendly reporters pointed out, no one was fired or referred to the police, and the team isn’t suffering any competitive consequences (loss of draft picks, etc.).
“For many years the workplace environment at the Washington Football Team, both generally and particularly for women, was highly unprofessional,” the league said in a statement.
“Bullying and intimidation frequently took place and many described the culture as one of fear, and numerous female employees reported having experienced sexual harassment and a general lack of respect in the workplace.
“Ownership and senior management paid little or no attention to these issues. In some instances, senior executives engaged in inappropriate conduct themselves, including use of demeaning language and public embarrassment.”
The Washington Post exposed the sexual harassment and verbal abuse that ran rampant throughout the club in a bombshell July 2020 report.
The initial Post report led the team to hire D.C. attorney Beth Wilkinson to conduct “a thorough independent review.” The team then passed oversight over the investigation to the league.
“The culture at the club was very toxic and fell short of the NFL’s values and we hold ownership to a higher standard,” NFL special counsel for investigations Lisa Friel said.
But the Post reported more stories about Snyder specifically, ones that the NFL’s findings don’t really touch. In August of 2020, two former Washington staffers said that Snyder personally requested an illicit, non-consensual video of cheerleaders’ private parts exposed on calendar shoots. In December, the Post reported that Snyder had settled a women’s claim of sexual misconduct against him.
The NFL did say on Thursday that the cheerleaders would no longer pose for calendars, but it essentially exonerated Snyder of personal wrongdoing by saying that “None of the managers or executives identified as having engaged in misconduct is still employed at the club.”
So other than a massive check, and public embarrassment — the latter never having bothered Snyder before — the owner is off scot-free. His wife will represent the team publicly and privately for “at least the next several months,” while Dan Snyder “will concentrate on a new stadium plan.” The NFL did not call Snyder stepping aside a suspension. Tanya Snyder was named co-CEO on Tuesday.
In other words, Dan, go chase down the league’s next boondoggle, and try not to get into too much trouble before you can secure it.
“I have learned a lot in the past few months about how my club operated, and the kind of workplace that we had. It is now clear that the culture was not what it should be, but I did not realize the extent of the problems, or my role in allowing that culture to develop and continue,” Snyder said in a statement. “I know that as the owner I am ultimately responsible for the workplace.”
