The NFL moved rapidly Wednesday to take over an investigation into alleged sexual harassment by Washington Commanders proprietor Daniel Snyder, saying the league, not the crew, will rent an investigator to steer the probe.
The Commanders introduced Wednesday morning that the crew had employed an out of doors investigator to look into former crew worker Tiffani Johnston's claims that Snyder groped her thigh at a crew dinner greater than a decade in the past and and pushed her towards his limousine along with his hand on her decrease again.
Hours later, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy stated the crew wouldn't management the probe.
"Final week, the league said that we'll evaluation and take into account Ms. Johnston's allegations as we'd any others relating to office conduct on the Washington Commanders. The league, not the crew, will conduct an unbiased investigation and will probably be retaining an investigator to find out the details shortly," McCarthy stated.
The developments observe a well-recognized sample. When former workers of Washington's NFL crew first complained in 2020 about rampant sexual harassment by crew executives, the crew employed legal professional Beth Wilkinson's agency to research. The league took over that probe and Wilkinson reported her findings to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
The NFL fined Snyder $10 million and he briefly ceded day-to-day operations of the franchise to his spouse, Tanya. Wilkinson's report has not been launched publicly.
Though many former crew workers accused Snyder of presiding over a tradition that was poisonous to girls, he had not been personally accused of sexual harassment till final week, when Johnston detailed her allegations towards him to Congress. Johnston had declined to take part in Wilkinson's investigation.
Snyder has denied the allegations, calling them "outright lies."
The crew's announcement that it had employed exterior investigators was rapidly denounced by attorneys Lisa Banks and Debra Katz, who characterize greater than 40 former crew workers, together with Johnston. The attorneys referred to as the investigation a "sham" and stated Johnston wouldn't take part.
"The concept Dan Snyder has employed a crew to research his personal actions is totally absurd. This can be a determined public relations stunt, clearly designed to absolve him of wrongdoing," Banks and Katz stated in an announcement.
The crew stated it had employed consulting agency Pallas International Group LLC to supervise the probe, and that the corporate had retained Debra Wong Yang, a former U.S. legal professional and California state choose, to steer it. It was unclear whether or not the league would rent the identical investigators.
"The crew is dedicated to an intensive and unbiased investigation of Ms. Johnston's allegations, and pledges full cooperation with the investigation," the Commanders stated once they introduced the probe.
The crew stated the findings of its investigation can be launched to the general public.
Johnston labored for the crew, then referred to as the Redskins, within the 2000s as a cheerleader and advertising supervisor. The crew dropped its title, which had lengthy been criticized as offensive to Native Individuals, in 2020 amid protests of systemic racism that adopted the killing of George Floyd. It was referred to as the Washington Soccer Workforce the previous two seasons. Snyder introduced the brand new crew title final week.