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The National Football League is a tinderbox of scandals just waiting to explode. And Congress could be what sets it off.
I certainly hope so.
On Thursday, ESPN reported that beleaguered Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder, who has been accused of overseeing rampant sexual harassment within his organization, is planning to go scorched earth if he’s forced to fork over his team.
The NFL and Snyder’s organization are facing a congressional probe into the claims of workplace misconduct, and attorneys general in Virginia and the District of Columbia are investigating Snyder over potential financial impropriety as well.
ESPN’s latest report on Snyder claims he has been making contingency plans to give himself leverage if fellow team owners try to oust him. That may have included hiring private investigators to dig up dirt on other owners, ESPN reported. Sources within the Commanders told ESPN that Snyder has said fellow owners “can’t f--- with me,” because of what he has discovered.
According to more than 30 owners, league and team executives, lawyers and current and former Commanders employees interviewed by ESPN, the fear of reprisal that Snyder has instilled in his franchise, poisoning it on the field and off, has expanded to some of his fellow owners. Multiple owners and league and team sources say they’ve been told that Snyder instructed his law firms to hire private investigators to look into other owners — and [NFL Commissioner Roger] Goodell.
In a statement, legal representatives for Snyder, whose team was fined $10 million by the NFL over the workplace misconduct allegations, called the report about hiring private investigators “categorically false.” A team spokesperson also denied Snyder ever said executives wouldn’t be able to touch him. It sure would be nice to find out whether that’s true, though, right?
My friends, we should all be pulling for Congress to continue its investigation into the Commanders, with hopes that lawmakers unearth hidden details about the league. Earlier this year, I explained how mounting investigations and lawsuits against the NFL are threatening to expose all sorts of information about the league’s exclusionary hiring practices and even potentially embarrassing details about team executives.
Keep in mind: This is a league that has experienced numerous embarrassing incidents with past and present team owners.
Each day that the congressional investigation continues, the prospect of the probe turning up unflattering info about Snyder remains. And that always leaves open the possibility that he might feel he’s facing an inevitable NFL ouster and, well, act accordingly.