NFL vows action after 'disturbing' harassment claims
The NFL vowed Friday to act on findings from an owner-financed investigation of the Washington Redskins after 15 women said they had been sexually harassed while employed by the team.
© Drew Angerer The NFL said Friday it will act upon an investigation funded by Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder regarding sexual harassment allegations detailed in a Washington Post report
The Washington Post reported the detailed allegations Thursday, prompting team owner Dan Snyder to hire Washington law firm Wilkinson Walsh to conduct a review of the team's culture and policies as well as workplace misconduct.
Rather than launching its own probe, the NFL said it will meet with the investigating attorneys paid for by Snyder, who was not among the executives accused of inappropriate behavior, and act upon their findings.
"These matters as reported are serious, disturbing and contrary to the NFL's values. Everyone in the NFL has the right to work in an environment free from any and all forms of harassment," the league said in a statement on its website.
"Washington has engaged outside counsel to conduct a thorough investigation into these allegations. The club has pledged that it will give its full cooperation to the investigator and we expect the club and all employees to do so.
"We will meet with the attorneys upon the conclusion of their investigation and take any action based on the findings."
The newspaper report said the harassment took place from 2006 through 2019 and led to the departure of three team employees in the past week.
Emily Applegate, the only woman among the 15 identified by the Post, said the club was indifferent when a female employee alleged she had been groped by a wealthy stadium suite holder.
She also said she was verbally abused by a former senior executive while being ordered to wear tight-fitting clothes during meetings with clients.
Applegate told the Post her time with the Redskins was "the most miserable experience of my life" and added, "we all tolerated it, because we knew if we complained -- and they reminded us of this -- there were 1,000 people out there who would take our job in a heartbeat."
New Washington coach Ron Rivera released a statement saying everyone needed to understand the team's policy against harassment moving forward, noting he had a personal stake in the matter.
"Biggest thing is that we have to move forward from this and make sure everybody understands we have policies that we will follow and that we have an open door policy with no retribution," Rivera said.
"Plus, my daughter works for the team and I sure as hell am not going to allow any of this."
The Redskins, who announced Monday they were dropping the controversial name following pressure from sponsors, said the review would "help the team set new employee standards for the future."
NFL calls allegations against Redskins officials ‘serious, disturbing and contrary’ to league’s values
The NFL said Friday that the allegations of sexual harassment and verbal abuse made by women against former officials of Washington’s team are “serious, disturbing and contrary to the NFL’s values.” The league indicated that it will consider potential disciplinary action after reviewing the findings of the outside investigation that was initiated Thursday by the team.
The Washington Post reported the detailed allegations Thursday, prompting team owner Dan Snyder to hire Washington law firm Wilkinson Walsh to conduct a review of the team's culture and policies as well as workplace misconduct.
Rather than launching its own probe, the NFL said it will meet with the investigating attorneys paid for by Snyder, who was not among the executives accused of inappropriate behavior, and act upon their findings.
"These matters as reported are serious, disturbing and contrary to the NFL's values. Everyone in the NFL has the right to work in an environment free from any and all forms of harassment," the league said in a statement on its website.
"Washington has engaged outside counsel to conduct a thorough investigation into these allegations. The club has pledged that it will give its full cooperation to the investigator and we expect the club and all employees to do so.
"We will meet with the attorneys upon the conclusion of their investigation and take any action based on the findings."
The newspaper report said the harassment took place from 2006 through 2019 and led to the departure of three team employees in the past week.
Emily Applegate, the only woman among the 15 identified by the Post, said the club was indifferent when a female employee alleged she had been groped by a wealthy stadium suite holder.
She also said she was verbally abused by a former senior executive while being ordered to wear tight-fitting clothes during meetings with clients.
Applegate told the Post her time with the Redskins was "the most miserable experience of my life" and added, "we all tolerated it, because we knew if we complained -- and they reminded us of this -- there were 1,000 people out there who would take our job in a heartbeat."
New Washington coach Ron Rivera released a statement saying everyone needed to understand the team's policy against harassment moving forward, noting he had a personal stake in the matter.
"Biggest thing is that we have to move forward from this and make sure everybody understands we have policies that we will follow and that we have an open door policy with no retribution," Rivera said.
"Plus, my daughter works for the team and I sure as hell am not going to allow any of this."
The Redskins, who announced Monday they were dropping the controversial name following pressure from sponsors, said the review would "help the team set new employee standards for the future."
NFL calls allegations against Redskins officials ‘serious, disturbing and contrary’ to league’s values
The NFL said Friday that the allegations of sexual harassment and verbal abuse made by women against former officials of Washington’s team are “serious, disturbing and contrary to the NFL’s values.” The league indicated that it will consider potential disciplinary action after reviewing the findings of the outside investigation that was initiated Thursday by the team.
© John McDonnell/The Washington Post Daniel Snyder before a preseason game last August. (John McDonnell/The Washington Post)
The NFL’s response came in a written statement issued Friday morning after 15 former Redskins employees told The Washington Post in a report Thursday that they were sexually harassed during their time with the team.
The NFL’s response came in a written statement issued Friday morning after 15 former Redskins employees told The Washington Post in a report Thursday that they were sexually harassed during their time with the team.
“These matters as reported are serious, disturbing and contrary to the NFL’s values,” the league’s statement said. “Everyone in the NFL has the right to work in an environment free from any and all forms of harassment. Washington has engaged outside counsel to conduct a thorough investigation into these allegations. The club has pledged that it will give its full cooperation to the investigator and we expect the club and all employees to do so. We will meet with the attorneys upon the conclusion of their investigation and take any action based on the findings.”
The team said Thursday that it had hired D.C. attorney Beth Wilkinson and her firm, Wilkinson Walsh, “to conduct a thorough independent review of this entire matter and help the team set new employee standards for the future.”
The women’s allegations spanned from 2006 to 2019 and were made against Larry Michael, the team’s former senior vice president of content and its play-by-play announcer on its radio broadcasts; Alex Santos, the team’s former director of pro personnel; Richard Mann II, the team’s former assistant director of pro personnel; Dennis Greene, former president of business operations; and Mitch Gershman, former chief operating officer.
No women accused team owner Daniel Snyder or former team president Bruce Allen of inappropriate behavior. But some expressed skepticism that Snyder and Allen were unaware of the behavior. The women blamed the team for having an understaffed human resources department and said they viewed an environment of verbal abuse by top executives as contributing to the team’s inappropriate treatment of employees.
Santos and Mann were fired by the Redskins last weekend. Michael announced his retirement this week.
The individuals accused of misconduct also could be subject to potential discipline under the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
The NFL fined former Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson $2.75 million in 2018 after investigating claims of workplace misconduct against him. Richardson sold his team to David Tepper.
The team has announced plans to change its controversial name, long considered by some observers to be offensive to Native Americans. The allegations also come with Snyder’s minority ownership partners — Fred Smith, Dwight Schar and Robert Rothman — having hired an investment banking firm to attempt to sell their ownership shares. They own an estimated 40 percent of the team.
The team said Thursday that it had hired D.C. attorney Beth Wilkinson and her firm, Wilkinson Walsh, “to conduct a thorough independent review of this entire matter and help the team set new employee standards for the future.”
The women’s allegations spanned from 2006 to 2019 and were made against Larry Michael, the team’s former senior vice president of content and its play-by-play announcer on its radio broadcasts; Alex Santos, the team’s former director of pro personnel; Richard Mann II, the team’s former assistant director of pro personnel; Dennis Greene, former president of business operations; and Mitch Gershman, former chief operating officer.
No women accused team owner Daniel Snyder or former team president Bruce Allen of inappropriate behavior. But some expressed skepticism that Snyder and Allen were unaware of the behavior. The women blamed the team for having an understaffed human resources department and said they viewed an environment of verbal abuse by top executives as contributing to the team’s inappropriate treatment of employees.
Santos and Mann were fired by the Redskins last weekend. Michael announced his retirement this week.
The individuals accused of misconduct also could be subject to potential discipline under the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
The NFL fined former Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson $2.75 million in 2018 after investigating claims of workplace misconduct against him. Richardson sold his team to David Tepper.
The team has announced plans to change its controversial name, long considered by some observers to be offensive to Native Americans. The allegations also come with Snyder’s minority ownership partners — Fred Smith, Dwight Schar and Robert Rothman — having hired an investment banking firm to attempt to sell their ownership shares. They own an estimated 40 percent of the team.
No comments:
Post a Comment