NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder received requests to appear before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on June 22 as part of the investigation into “hostile workplace culture.”
A statement from the committee said letters were sent to Goodell and Snyder, among others, detailing the scope of the congressional investigation that began in October 2021.
“It’s in their best interest to come and tell their own side of the story in a manner they would find illuminating for us,” Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Illinois) of the request, according to ESPN. “What I find often on Capitol Hill is that when a party comes forward voluntarily as opposed to being subpoenaed, it ends up having a better chance of being able to explain the situation rather than events overtaking it.”
The NFL said it plans to reply to the request for Goodell to testify soon.
“The NFL has cooperated extensively throughout the Committee’s lengthy investigation of the Washington Commanders, including by producing more than 460,000 pages of documents and responding to numerous questions in writing and in conversations with the Committee’s staff,” NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said in a statement.
Rep. Jackie Speier (D-California) alleged that a cover up appears to be in play based on the Common Interest Agreement signed by the NFL and the Commanders. The agreement was put in place before the NFL’s investigation into the franchise’s culture, which Speier said “suggests the NFL never intended the investigation to be independent or made public.”
Speier referred to the Commanders’ organization as a “sordid cesspool” and questioned the motives of Goodell blocking the release of the full investigation into the Commanders’ workplace and Snyder’s behavior.
Since the initial investigation wrapped on the NFL’s watch, a new allegation — from Tiffani Johnston, a former marketing and events coordinator for the franchise — was shared at a congressional roundtable. The NFL opened another investigation, Goodell said.
And in April, the Federal Trade Commission was notified by the Committee on Oversight that a former employee under Snyder asserted the franchise maintains two sets of accounting and financial records. The employee, Jason Friedman, said he has since met with the House Committee.
–Field Level Media
