The sexual harassment allegations swirling around the team have been boiling in the background, out of sight but not out of mind. The release of the e-mail exchange between former Washington team executive Bruce Allen and then broadcaster, now ex-Raiders coach Jon Gruden were enough to torpedo Gruden's career.
The team settled a harassment suit by cheerleaders who were filmed without consent while preparing for photo shoots in 2008 and 2010. Seventeen year employee and former head of business operations, Dennis Greene was found to have sold access to the cheerleading crew. He has since resigned. Note that cheerleaders are unpaid in a league with multi-billion dollar revenues annually.
Snyder's foot dragging on a team name change is telling in its aversion to progressive thinking. Still, it begs the question as to why he has kept control this long when the likes of former Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson were expunged in a very public shaming. The league's move to the advancement of women into historically male roles as team executives, referees, athletic trainers and more runs counter intuitive to the frat boy club Snyder has presided over.
The pending disclosure of Griffin's sexual harassment may be Snyder's last stand. As we have learned from incidents with the Ottawa Senators and Chicago Black Hawks, male on male sexual harassment in sports is far from unlikely or unheard of, if seldom reported. If Griffin had similar experiences to the NHL victims and the team's response was found wanting, Snyder may suffer a forced divestiture like Jerry Richardson.
Billionaires, however, do not give up assets, money or status willingly. Make no mistake, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell works for the owners. Much of his tenure has been spent on image making around the damage caused by owner and player actions off the field. Robert Kraft has survived massage gate and all the other "gates" associated with the Patriots' run of success in the Belichick era.
Men like Snyder can afford the best legal advice on the planet. He states that he brought in head coach Ron Rivera to change the culture. But a head coach manages players, not organizations. If Goodell can save Snyder from himself, it will likely be done in a manner as discrete as the league's quietly stroking a cheque for 790 million to settle the Rams relocation lawsuit. The entertainment value of that spectacle will likely be more entertaining than the team's on field product.
Only the author of this article is worried about RG3 doing any damage to Snyder I think if RG3 had a Smoken gun he would have fired it already. But I not opposed to Snyder selling the team.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.