On Wednesday, June 22, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform will begin hearings regarding the reports of a hostile workplace environment in the case of the now-Washington Commanders in the franchise’s iterations as the Washington Football Team, and the Washington Redskins. Ahead of those hearings, six members of Congress have asked NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to release the report put together by attorney Beth Wilkinson. To date, Goodell has not done so, and since Commanders owner Daniel Snyder will not be testifying at the hearings,
As Members of Congress from the National Capital Region, we represent the people impacted by the Commanders' hostile work environment.
We see Dan Snyder is refusing to explain himself to Congress.
We have a clear message for the NFL and Commissioner Goodell: release the report. pic.twitter.com/Z8mh6cs9JE
— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) June 16, 2022
Beyer, Gerald Connolly, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Anthony Brown, Jennifer Weston, and Jamie Raskin each attached their signatures to the June 16 request of Goodell.
The likelihood of Goodell actually releasing the report, as opposed to forcing Congress to waste time that could be spent on matters of state, is not outstanding. In reports earlier this year by ESPN’s Tisha Thompson, and Liz Clarke of the Washington Post, it has been revealed that the NFL and Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder entered into an agreement that any findings from Congress’ current probe into the team’s toxic workplace environment cannot be made public by one entity without the agreement of the other.
But at a certain point, the NFL will be forced to release its findings, whether it wants to or not, and no matter what dirt is revealed on the league itself, above and beyond the Washington franchise. This has already happened in the case of Jon Gruden, whose NFL career ground to an immediate halt when his racist, misogynist, and homophobic communications with former Washington team president Bruce Allen came to light.
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Snyder’s absence makes this a bit more of a dog-and-pony show, so hopefully the members of Congress in charge of these proceedings will press Goodell to do the right thing, as opposed to continuing this exercise in obfuscation.
