Committee Finds NFL ‘Buried’ Beth Wilkinson Investigation Into Commanders

The scathing 79-page report is titled “How the NFL and the Washington Commanders Covered Up Decades of Sexual Misconduct.”

On Thursday, the House Committee for Oversight and Reform’s investigation into the Commanders and Dan Snyder was released, and it found that the embattled co-owner gave “misleading testimony” and the NFL “buried” Beth Wilkinson’s report and findings. It also found that Snyder “permitted and participated in” troubling conduct. 

“Commanders owner Daniel Snyder—who owned the Team during the two decades when workplace misconduct was rampant in the organization—also obstructed the Committee’s inquiry,” the report read. “Mr. Snyder was invited to testify at a public hearing but refused to appear and then sought to avoid service of a subpoena while abroad with his yacht. Mr. Snyder ultimately sat for a private deposition but failed to provide full and complete testimony. 

“Over the course of the deposition, he claimed more than 100 times that he could not recall the answers to the Committee’s questions, including basic inquiries about his role as Team owner and multiple allegations of misconduct,” the report continued. “Mr. Snyder also gave misleading testimony about his efforts to interfere with the Wilkinson Investigation.”

The release of the 79-page report, titled “How the NFL and the Washington Commanders Covered Up Decades of Sexual Misconduct,” puts an end to the more than yearlong investigation by the committee into workplace misconduct and sexual harassment allegations within the Washington franchise. 

The congressional committee’s investigation was centered on sexual misconduct and financial impropriety claims, beginning in October 2021 when committee chairwoman Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D., N.Y.) and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D., Ill.) called for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to turn over the findings from Wilkinson’s investigation. Wilkinson began her investigation into the Commanders in August 2020, and while it was completed 10 months later, the findings were never released publicly. Washington was fined $10 million as result of the Wilkinson probe, and she relayed her findings only orally to the NFL and Goodell. 

Goodell always justified not releasing Wilkinson’s report to protect the anonymity of the witnesses and women who reported sexual misconduct. However, the committee’s report found that this approach was not used by the league in the the past and was enforced only to cover up the report. 

In October 2021, Lisa Banks and Debra Katz, the lawyers representing 40 former Washington Football Team employees, released a statement urging the NFL to release the findings of its investigation into the team.

"It is truly outrageous that after the NFL's 10-month long investigation involving hundreds of witnesses and 650,000 documents related to the longtime culture of harassment and abuse at the Washington Football Team, the only person to be held accountable and lose their job is the coach of the Las Vegas Raiders,” the statement read. “Our clients and the public at large deserve transparency and accountability. If not, the NFL and Roger Goodell must explain why they appear intent on protecting the Washington Football Team and owner Dan Snyder at all costs.” 

Snyder hired Wilkinson to investigate the franchise’s workplace culture after the Washington Post published a report that included 15 female former employees of the team describing their experiences with sexual harassment and verbal abuse within the organization. Additionally, WFT cheerleaders said they were secretly videotaped while getting undressed and later reached a settlement with the team.

The league then took over, with Wilkinson reporting to Jeff Pash, the longtime general counsel of the NFL and adviser to commissioner Roger Goodell, who was under scrutiny following the 650,000 emails the league investigated that resulted in former Raiders coach Jon Gruden's resignation. The New York Times uncovered misogynistic, racist and anti-LGBTQ emails sent by Gruden from 2010 to ’18, which were also collected and reviewed by the NFL while it investigated the Washington Football Team. The ex-coach reportedly sent the emails to then team president Bruce Allen.

Allen also testified to the committee that Snyder spoke about using private investigators to gather information on Goodell, per the report. 

Additionally, Snyder testified that the team informed the NFL in 2009 about allegations against him that led to a $1.6 million settlement with a former employee who said he sexually assaulted her. That assertion stood in contrast to Goodell’s June testimony, during which he was asked whether the league was told of the allegation and replied, “I don’t recall him informing [the league] of that, no.” The report said the NFL subsequently “informed the Committee that the Team did not disclose the specific nature of this allegation to the NFL until more than 10 years later, in 2020.”

Snyder testified remotely in a 10-hour deposition only after weeks of negotiations over the terms of the interview with the committee. He refused the committee’s invitation to take part in the June 22 hearing on Capitol Hill, at which Goodell testified remotely. Snyder’s attorney subsequently refused to accept electronic service of a subpoena.

On Nov. 2, the Commanders announced that co-owners Dan and Tanya Snyder hired Bank of America to help potentially sell the team. The announcement came just over two weeks after Colts owner Jim Irsay said Snyder should be removed from his position and that he believed there were enough owners’ votes to remove him as the Commanders’ co-owner.

The Commanders organization’s attorneys John Brownlee and Stuart Nash released statements about the committees findings on Thursday.

“Today’s report does not advance public knowledge of the Washington Commanders workplace in any way,” the statement read. “The team is proud of the progress it has made in recent years in establishing a welcoming and inclusive workplace, and it looks forward to future success, both on and off the field.”