Blumenthal Demands NFL Release Results of Investigation Into Sexual Harassment, Abuse & Workplace Misconduct at the Washington Commanders

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) called on National Football League (NFL) Commissioner Roger Goodell to publicly release the results of Attorney Beth Wilkinson’s independent investigation into mismanagement by Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder and others within the organization. The letter follows yesterday’s House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing examining the NFL’s handling of the team’s reported wrongdoing and gross workplace misconduct, including multiple instances of sexual harassment and abuse.

“I write to request the League swiftly and publicly release the results of the investigation it commissioned into mismanagement at the Commanders organization,” wrote Blumenthal. “I am appalled by the additional information released by House Oversight Reform Committee, which demonstrates that Snyder created a hostile work environment through misconduct and then engaged in a legal campaign to cover up his actions.”

Reports of verbal abuse and a pervasive culture of sexual harassment and misogyny created by Commanders owner Snyder and senior staff were investigated by Wilkinson, eventually leading to the league fining the Commanders $10 million. However, the NFL refused to release a written report detailing the findings, which Blumenthal called, “confounding and frankly inexcusable,” and “a departure from how the league has handled investigations in the past.”

Citing this lack of transparency and failure to publicly address these troubling allegations, Blumenthal called on the NFL to release complete and accurate information to the public, telling Goodell, “Anything less is an unacceptable abdication of your responsibility.”

“As Commissioner, it is your job to guarantee that everyone associated with the NFL – from owners to players to personnel – are held accountable for wrongdoing. Your failure to release the findings of the Wilkinson investigation to the public is a failure to hold Snyder and the Commanders organization accountable,” Blumenthal concluded. 

The full text of the letter can be found here.

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