NFL deal could have big impact in Daniel Snyder sexual harassment case

The NFL and Washington Commanders have agreed not to disclose information involving the investigation of sexual harassment claims against owner Daniel Snyder with consulting each other, per the Washington Post.

The document, labeled the “Common Interest Agreement” cites “common legal interests” between the team and league as the reason not to release details from the investigation, led by attorney Beth Wilkinson.

The news comes after dozens of women have come forward to share stories of being sexually harassed by team officials, with Snyder being at the forefront of the accusations.

The latest sexual harassment allegations against Daniel Snyder were aired on Capitol Hill on Thursday, where six former team employees detailed experiences of being demeaned, degraded and threatened during their tenure.

Former cheerleader and marketing manager Tiffani Johnston recalled having to fend off Snyder’s advances during and after a work dinner. Although Snyder denied Johnston’s claims, former team executive Jason Friedman, who attended the dinner, later corroborated them in a letter to the congressional committee.

Democrat representatives Carolyn B. Maloney and Raja Krishnamoorthi wrote a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Friday. In it, they claim that the league and Washington team are trying to hide something not releasing information from the investigation.

“(The agreement) may have been intended to prevent the public release of certain information related to the investigation absent the agreement of both parties,” they wrote. “Meaning that either the WFT or the NFL could try to bury the findings of the investigation.”

The letter is in direct contrast to Goodell’s statement that the NFL “wanted to protect the privacy of the women who spoke to its investigators.”

Maloney and Krishnamoorthi went on to question the veracity of Goodell’s claims and set a Feb. 14 deadline for submitting “all documents pertinent to the Wilkinson investigation, as well as the Wilkinson findings.” If the NFL fails to comply, the House members wrote, they would seek “alternate means” of obtaining the documents.

Upon the conclusion of Wilkinson’s work, the NFL in July 2021 issued a four-page news release announcing that it was fining the team $10 million. It took no action against Snyder personally.

An attorney for Daniel Snyder denied that the agreement is an attempt to withhold information from the public. But Lisa Banks, an attorney for several former Washington employees, including the six who took part in the roundtable, disagreed, calling the investigation a fraud.

“The NFL and Daniel Snyder joined forces at the beginning of this investigation to pursue a joint legal strategy and declared a common interest in the outcome of the investigation,” Banks said. “Roger Goodell lied to the hundreds of women and men who came forward and to the public at large about the intentions behind the investigation, its supposed independence and the reasons for not releasing the findings. There must be consequences, and we will be reviewing any and all legal options available to our clients.”